A Matter of Fate
by Answerthecall
Summary: Post-Age of Extinction. Soon after the battle of Hong Kong, Hound crosses paths with, and befriends the son of James Savoy. As the two grow closer, a deep bond between them is formed. One that may just find a way to fill the void both have in their lives.
1. The Aftermath

A/N: So I just saw the movie, and this fic hit me at once. I had to write it, just had to. So I've been developing it in my head, and now here it goes. You'll have to work with me on this, as I'm still developing the idea. But I have enough that I think I have a good story and basic start to work off of. :) So be warned: there are some MAJOR spoilers. So if you have not yet seen the movie, heed my warning. Stop reading now until you get to see it.

A/N #2: My bad for the delete and repost. I put this in the cartoons section and not the movies section. That's what I get for posting it at 2AM.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers, only Mark Savoy, and any other original characters who may appear.

PAIRINGS: Mentions of OptimusxElita, Mentions of HoundxCybertronian OC, eventual OCxOC (Mark and a female human), Mentions of SideswipexArcee

...

**CHAPTER 1  
The Aftermath**

"I'm sorry for your loss."

It was all that anybody could say to young Mark Savoy following the death of his mother. But he had hoped it would have been a much longer time before he ever had to hear it about his father. Perhaps it wouldn't have hit the fourteen year old as hard if everything about Cemetery Wing hadn't come out, from a speech from the President himself no less. It was needless to say that he could not comprehend his fathers actions. To kill the Autobots, a group that Mark had idolized for their awesome nature when he was a child, and use them the way he did.

Mark closed his eyes, trying his best to push the thought of what he did to the back of his mind. He pushed his chestnut brown hair from his face and squinted his dark blue eyes towards the distance. He'd been on the run ever since that day, just him, a backpack with a few cherished possessions, and the clothes on his back. It was all he needed, he didn't need his father's secrets and lies, and he definitely didn't need the sympathy of a world that didn't truly care. He only needed himself, the number one in his life now.

The only person he knew couldn't lie to him.

Stuffing his hands into his worn jean pockets, he stared around quietly. He wasn't at all sure where he was, though according to the bus he'd taken to get away from his latest run-in with the cops, he had read it was somewhere in Texas. He sighed, he had certainly put more than enough distance between himself and Washington DC, and he was truly thankful for that. He sighed a bit, making his way down the sidewalk and staring around for the local eatery, spotting a small diner before he checked his pocket again for what little money he had.

It amounted to little more than his last five dollar bill, and some loose change. He grunted to himself, and carefully settled it back into his pocket. "Hey, kid." Mark turned his head to see an older man, by the looks of it, homeless "There's a soup kitchen about a two blocks walk down that way." He pointed in the right direction "If yer looking for something to eat, I'd head that way."

Mark was silent, frowning at the thought of eating in a soup kitchen of all places. "Who says I am?" He asked.

"You look and smell like you haven't showered in a month." The man replied, starting toward him "You don't think I know a runaway when I see one?" He asked, taking in the form of the young teenager "Kids like you don't last long on the streets, yer too scrawny." He reached forward, running a hand along his hair "Of course, supposing you get yourself a job..."

"If you even go near there I will kick you in the balls old man."

As if for emphasis, Mark kicked the man in the shins. He groaned, backing up a bit and staring into the eyes of the young boy. "What the hell?"

"You're probably a pimp, right? This is how you pick up new merchandise." Mark clutched his strap "I've run into a few of you on the streets, man. And I'll tell you what I told them. I'm packing heat, if you come near me, I'll make sure you won't get "pleasure" again." He stated, the man seemed to bumble a bit "So thanks for the information, but I'll find somewhere else to get my meal."

Mark left the bewildered man as he stuffed his cash back into his pocket. He let a chill run up his spine as he looked over his shoulder to make sure that the man was not following him. To his relief, the man had turned around and walked off. Mark was thankful that most creeps that were on the streets were stupid, or he might have not bought the same imaginary "gun" threat again. If there was one thing he definitely owed his father for, it was for teaching him to stand his ground and not let anyone take advantage of him.

He tried not to grimace at the very thought that his barbaric father had taught him anything. Making his way down the sidewalk again, he looked down at his feet and thought it over. Was there really a soup kitchen nearby? He doubted it, after all, the town seemed too small for homelessness to be much of an issue. But it didn't matter to him, what mattered to him was eating, and if his stomach got any emptier, well... It wasn't looking good. "Come on, big guy." He looked up at the sky "A little help or guidance here would be nice."

As usual, the big man upstairs didn't shine anything down, or offer him what he was asking for. Mark had a feeling that he had bigger things to worry about then some "lost cause" of a kid whose maniac father had committed mass genocide to a race of peace-loving robots. But he did keep hope, and at the end of the day, if he had hope, at least it was something.

...

"Like this?"

"A little to the left."

Hound leaned back as he watched the humans at work at the Yeagar's soon-to-be new residence. It had only been a few weeks since the battle in China, and Optimus Prime's departure from Earth, but it was still felt by all. In particular, the older mech worried for his adopted creation, Bumblebee, who seemed to spend most of his days in their new home base of sorts in Texas sulking. Yet time went on, and life did too. Joshua had gladly agreed to build the Yaegar's a new home which was coming along adequately while they had, of course relocated to Texas. It was their attempt to do as Optimus wished: looking after the family that protected them.

To be frank, with Galvatron on the run, and Lockdown gone, Hound found the whole situation boring. Quietly turning to Drift, who sat beside him on the hill just beyond the Yaegar's new home, Hound sighed. "So..." He stated, flicking his missile "cigar" slightly "What do you suppose we do about this whole situation?"

"We wait for Prime." Drift noted "He'll return someday."

Hound frowned, he had to admit, he had his doubts. If he knew anything about Optimus, until the bounty on his head was lifted, he was not coming back. And to talk to these so-called "creators" would most certainly be an issue all of its own. "I suppose it is all we can do, eh?" Hound noted "We're a gang without a leader, a home..."

"The government has promised to reinstate NEST." Drift replied "Without a doubt, we will soon find a home once again with the human military." He then added, opening an eye from his meditative state "No doubt you will get your taste of "action" once again soon."

"Like I'm going to trust the government again after all of this."

Drift stood from his stance now, and stared towards his comrade slowly. Hound knew it was a harsh sentiment. But given all they had been through, and all of the allies they had lost, he wasn't sure _how _he could trust the humans. "Give it time, Hound. Our foe, Attinger is no more." Drift told him wisely "The humans wish only for peace, as should you."

Hound flicked his "cigar" once again, before tossing it away. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" Hound replied, his optics lifted a bit "Hey, Drift, you getting that?"

Hound frowned a bit, the signal was weak, but he could still feel the signal. A new arrival? Already? Had Optimus not taken the time to warn any other Autobots that this was not the time to come to Earth? "Who do you think it would be?" Drift questioned, his own optics lifting "Surely, Optimus would not return so fast. Having only just departed."

"Of course not." Hound replied, running his internal scanners "But whatever it is, it's heading our way." He was silent for a moment "I'm gonna go check it out. I've got just enough ammo to take 'em on if they're a 'Con." He noted "You should stay here and make sure nothing happens to the family while I'm gone. Ye never know if they'll make their way back here."

"Of course." Drift replied "But why you?"

"Because I've got an arsenal and a bad mood." Hound snorted "I don't think any Decepticon stands a chance against that if it comes to that."

"Try not to do anything... Unwise."

Hound merely rolled his optics slightly as he transformed down into his large tactical vehicle form. He gave a calm rev of his engines, and tried his best to make a pinpoint of the location on his internal radar. "Don't wait up."

As he took off from the hill and onto the main road, Hound sighed quietly. Perhaps it was blind loyalty that made him wish that Optimus would be the one he was going to find. But even so, he did wish it. The Autobots needed their leader, and quite frankly, he needed his old friend back. He'd lost too much to the war already: his family, his home, and even his creation. To have Optimus figuratively lost to it too, well, to say the least it bothered him. "Ah, Hound, you sentimental old mech." He murmured to himself "Optimus wouldn't want this for you."

But it didn't keep the older mech from his sadness. It only increased it as he thought of what Optimus may be going through out there, in the stars. Had he found the creators? Had he already found out what it is they wanted? Or better yet, who they were? He tried his best to push his thoughts into the back of his processor as it drifted. Maybe all of this really was just a sign that in his older age, Hound was starting to think way too much. if the last option didn't make him feel like an old coot, he might have gone for that.

"Yeah, a little excitement might do me good." Hound muttered to himself as the town, and a large flying object came into view "Slag, where is that fragging thing headed?"

As he followed it, he could only hope his trajectory was off. Because if whoever it was landed in the middle of town, well, they were going to have serious trouble on their hands.

...

A/N: And so begins my first post-TF4 fic! Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. :)


	2. The Run-In

**CHAPTER 2  
The Run-In**

Mark's life truly began thirty minutes after his encounter with the man on the sidewalk. He had told himself not to go on the rural side of the town, in fact he had warned himself not to. But of course, he hadn't listened, and now he had been thrown several feet by what he could only describe as the landing of the biggest shooting star he'd ever seen. As he came out of his stupor, he let that sink in a moment, a shooting star in broad daylight? His eyes filtered up as the dust that had hit him in a wave started to clear. For a moment, he could see the large form of what seemed to be an asteroid, but before the dust had even cleared the form of the asteroid had started to shift... And transform.

_Aw crap..._

Crawling back, he took in the form of the giant, winged purple Transformer with the narrowed red optics which stood just feet from him. The robot reared its head back, scanning around slightly. The sad thing was, as Mark noted, if his optics hadn't beed red, the universal sign of the "Decepticons" as far as most humans knew, it might have been an awesome moment. Scrambling back, he watched as the transformer continued to scan around before finally rearing its head to focus on him. "A _native_." It rumbled quietly, its voice somewhat gravely in nature.

"H-Hi." Mark waved slightly, finally managing to pull himself to his feet "I'm sorry to have disturbed you. I was just looking for a tree with fruit or y'know... Something to eat." The Transformer stared down at him quizzically before beginning a slow walk "My name's Mark..." Mark spoke as casually as he could "What's yours?"

"You're scared." The words seemed to rumble as the large Transformer spoke "Why would you fear me, flesh creature? I haven't even made a move to harm you yet." The clearly male robot noted "C'mere, let me get a closer look at ye, I've never seen an organic up close before." He noted, a chuckle erupting from him "I promise not to crush you."

Before Mark could let out more than a startled cry, the back of his shirt was pinched and the large robot had lifted him. The boy tried to close his eyes as he caught sight of the massive drop, trying to think about anything but this. "Very interesting." The mech spoke, looking him over slightly "Yet, disgusting." Mark's eyes flew open and narrowed at the mech as he said that "But the question is what to do now that you've seen me? Lord Megatron would say to crush you like an insect..." He noted "Yet you are a fascinating creature."

"Better yet, why don't you put the youngling _down _Cyclonus?"

Mark turned at the sound of the new, friendlier voice that spoke up. Taking in the form of the tall, somewhat burly transformer that approached the Decepticon, who he now guessed was "Cyclonus". "Ah, Hound, figures you'd be on this planet." Cyclonus sneered as the mech removed a large gun from his back "Always here to protect the little ones, aren't you?"

"Ye hurt, kid?" Hound shouted, and though petrified, Mark managed to shake his head "Good, you sit tight now. I'll have you out of this situation in no time." He noted.

Mark couldn't believe the certainty in the mech's voice. After a moment, Cyclonus stared down at him, his head tilted somewhat to the side. Mark definitely didn't like this feeling, being caught between two Transformers about to get into a fight. Would he get crushed? He trembled slightly, trying to stare away from the red optics. "C'mon, Cyclonus." Hound noted "It's just a boy, why don't you pick on someone your own size. I'll give you about half a second to put him down before I empty a good five hundred rounds into you."

"No, I think I'll keep him."

The sound of gunfire shocked Mark for a moment before he was thrown through the air and crashed into the ground. He groaned quietly as the large mech that had come to his aide rushed to his side. "Run." Hound told him calmly "Get somewhere safe, and hide yourself." He noted, turning around and removing yet another gun, turning on Cyclonus "Now like, I said..." He noted as Cyclonus started to lift himself off the ground "Pick on someone _your own size_." He shouted.

Mark quickly rushed behind one of the trees, staring around as Hound shot off gunfire. Cyclonus brought out two large blades to counter, attacking the Autobot violently. He chewed his lip trying to keep out of the way of the stray blasts. It was only a few minutes later when a wounded Cyclonus backed up, holding his bleeding side. "Enough of this foolishness. You live to fight another day." Cyclonus noted "This is not the last you'll hear of me."

Hound aimed once again, firing his guns as Cyclonus transformed up into a Cybertronian jet, dodged, and swerved, taking off into the sky. Mark relaxed at the fact that the mech didn't come flying back for him, or to cause more trouble. "Ye still back there, little guy?" Mark tensed up "Don't be afraid, younglin'. I'm a friend, one of the good guys unlike him."

"I'm not sure you'd consider me a friend." Mark replied, his voice cracking as he stepped out "Thanks for saving me... Hound, right?" He asked.

"Yessir." Hound crouched a bit "And what's your name, youngling?"

"Mark." Mark replied.

"Mind tellin' me what a human like you is doing so far out here alone?" He asked "I didn't think ye young ones ever stepped outside your housing units unless with a guardian of some sort yet." He explained "You can't be older than what? Yer early teens?"

"Yeah..." Mark nodded his head "I should be getting back home right now. I bet my parents are majorly worried about me." He replied as he began to walk past Hound "It was nice to meet you, Hound. And uh... I guess welcome back to society or something since you guys are back in good graces with the humans?" he explained "Well, bye."

Hound looked after the boy thoughtfully, wondering why the human would be so nervous. And what had he meant about him not being anything of a "friend" to the Autobots? By the time Mark had made his way back into town, and Hound had stayed behind a few minutes to make sure Cyclonus wasn't coming back, it hit him. A few weeks ago, an amber alert that had gone out across the country for a young boy that looked oddly like Mark. One Markus Franklin Savoy, the son of one James Savoy who had mercilessly hunted down the Autobots.

"Mark", short of Markus. _Aw, slag._ He thought to himself as he transformed down. He knew the others wouldn't know what to make of this, just like he didn't.

...

It was somewhat his luck that Hound came across Mark again as he drove back into town. The human kept his head down and appeared to be trying to keep himself out of sight. Hound quickly noted that the boy had developed sunburns and looked especially dehydrated and, at least by his scans, hungry. "Markus Savoy." Mark jumped out of his skin as he turned towards Hound "You've been on the run a long time."

"How did you-?"

"We keep our tabs on human affairs. A while ago you showed up in an Amber Alert." Hound noted "How in Primus's good name did ye ever make your way down to Texas?" He questioned "Didn't you and yer father live in Washington DC?" Mark remained silent "Ye know I have nothing against ye, kid. Ye may think that we hold grudges based on blood, but you would be incorrect."

Mark turned around, crossing his arms slightly. "Sure, but you are going to turn me in, right?" Hound was silent, not providing an answer "I thought so, but I'm not going back. Not after everything that happened with you guys and my dad." He shook his head "My family's names been dragged through the mud and if I go back... All I'm gonna be is the son of a psychopath." He then added "So thanks for saving me, but I'm not interested in going back."

Hound gave a quiet rumble of his engines, following Mark as he tried to escape. "Look, you look hurt, tired, and hungry." Hound noted, trying to reason with the boy "What's more, Cyclonus now knows about you, and I want to keep ye under close watch for today. The last thing we need to be is responsible for the disappearance of a child." He then noted "Can you at the very least agree to come with me for a little while?"

Mark shook his head. "I know that trick. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Hound sighed, this kid was quite the stubborn little guy, that was for sure. But he wasn't going to put them on the news for kidnapping a kid either. Taking a deep breath, he threw open his door, blocking Mark who walked right into it. "I can be just as stubborn as you seem to be." Hound told him bluntly "Yer coming with me." He added.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't scream for help." Mark replied.

"I won't turn ye in." Hound noted "I just don't want to leave ye alone and have them find you dissected on the side of the road for _fun_." He noted, Mark looked over at that, his mouth agape "Cyclonus is not one to be trifled with, young one. So I ask you to listen to me and get inside. Once I am certain he is not coming for you I will drive you where you wish to go. And you can go on yer way."

"Really? Are you serious?" Mark asked carefully.

"Why would I not be?" Hound asked honestly "I have no quarrel with you, like I said. Yer just a kid."

Mark looked down, seemingly thinking it over for a long moment before finally climbing into the vehicle. The door closed and a seatbelt slid over him as Hound pulled out, driving from the scene. "So... Yer Savoy's son..." Hound spoke, uncertain of how to make conversation "To be honest I thought his son wouldn't be so... Normal."

"How well did you even know my dad?" Mark asked "When I saw him, he wasn't the man they talked about on the television. I don't... I don't even know that man." He admitted quietly "My dad... He used to tuck me in at night and take me to the movies... He... He used to call me his "greatest treasure", and..." He shook his head "I just don't understand what could make him do such horrible things to you guys."

Hound decided it was best to not bring up that he had done terrible things to humans too. He could practically feel the pain in Mark's words, and he understood. No one wanted to find out that their parent was a scumbag, they wanted to think they were the kind people they tried to present themsevles as. "Well... I'm sure that even the cruelest of people have some small bit of kindness in them." He forced himself to say "At the very least he treated his own kin kindly."

Mark didn't respond to the Autobot about that, he only looked out the window as a rumble erupted from his stomach. He clutched it slightly, having almost forgotten the real issue here: he was starving. "What do ye say I grab you something to eat?" Hound questioned "In my glove compartment, there should be a government issued credit card which we have been given. With any luck, the account won't be locked anymore now that the humans trust us again." He explained.

"I don't want your pity."

"I'm not going to let ye starve."

The glove compartment popped open, and Mark frowned at the card in front of him. If he took this, he accepted help from this Autobot, a mech he barely even knew. He wouldn't have even been surprised if Hound was lying and had already called social services. Yet, as his stomach rumbled again, he sighed. Maybe just one bite to eat, maybe he'd even let him out and he could make a run for it after. "Maybe one burger, and a few hours with you." Mark replied "But then I'm gone."

"If that's what ye want." Hound replied "But ye may want to think about it."

As far as Mark was concerned, he had thought about it. And the last thing he wanted was someone preaching to him, he didn't need anyone. And as much as this mech seemed to want to convince him that he cared about his well-being he wouldn't fall for it. The world had lied to him enough to know never to trust a person based on their kindness again. And that was a fact he was sure of.


	3. Shelter and Worries

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites guys! Your feedback is awesome and always appreciated. :3

...

**CHAPTER 3  
Shelter and Worries**

Soon after he had eaten, Mark found himself asleep in the mech's vehicle form. Leaving Hound to drive them both to a secure location, namely an abandoned theater in the town. One which he had heard Cade mention more than once as where he had found Optimus, and as he understood, was owned, although old, and no one was usually inside. The day seemed to go by quietly, without any sign of Cyclonus, much to his relief. So he spent most of it watching the young boy asleep inside his form just in case he stirred or tried to make a break for it.

Luckily, the boy didn't even stir until some time later when he woke up. "Rise and shine." Hound jested "I figured that if you were going to _insist _upon hiding out. I may as well find you somewhere where we can keep an eye on you." Hound explained politely as he opened the door up "Cade says it's owned by someone. But they rarely, if ever show up here."

Mark unbuckled himself and hopped out of the car form. "How did you drive in here anyway?" Mark asked.

Hound transformed, taking out one of his missile cigars. "Must have been something else before it was a theater. Because there's a pretty wide exit around the back. I had to carry you in though." Mark frowned a bit "Hey I found you a roof over yer head, kid. If I were you, I'd be thanking yer ole pal Hound." He noted rather bluntly.

Mark had to admit, Hound had kept to his word, and it surprised him. Silently, he crossed his arms and stared around the mostly "abandoned" theater, what he guessed he could now call his "home" for the time being. "Thanks." Mark finally spoke up "You know, for not turning me in, the food... Everything." He paused a moment "I don't really have a way of paying you back. And I'm not really sure I trust you enough that I would trust you with anything in my backpack."

"No thanks necessary." Hound held up a hand "When I was yer age in my years I went on the run for a while too. Call me a sentimental fool if you want." He noted "The Enforcers - my planet's police force, did find me eventually." He explained "Have ye ever thought what you're going to do when that happens?"

"They already have. I always outsmart them." Mark crossed his arms "I get it, you think I'm some stupid kid on the run from his past, right? I'm not. I just don't want to be a part of whatever the whole damn world is turning into." He then looked over at him "In four years, I'll be eighteen and then I can be on my own without trouble anyway. It'll go by in no time."

Hound frowned a bit, looking at the human as he continued to examine his new surroundings. He certainly was a strong kid, that much he couldn't deny. And in that sense, he couldn't help but be reminded of the son he had lost. He'd been a tough customer too, one that didn't let himself get pushed around and had thick skin. Fortunately for him, however, he had not had the same issues that Mark was going through now. "Whatever ye say, kid." Hound finally spoke up again "But it's pretty hard to make it out there on yer own. You can take my word for it."

Mark didn't want to listen, even if he knew that the mech might have had a point. He didn't want to go into foster care, and he definitely didn't want to go back to being "that psychopath's son". What did the Autobot know anyway? He didn't know him, he didn't know what a tough kid he was. "I think I'll manage." Mark replied "But I appreciate your help, I really do." He then added "I can take it from here."

"You won't have to." Hound replied "I'm gonna keep my eye on ye as long as yer here."

"Why?" Mark asked, his hands on his hips "Don't you feel like you've done enough?"

Hound stared at Mark, deep in thought. He wasn't sure how to answer that, as on one hand, he felt like he had. Yet, on the other, the boy's resilience intrigued him. What was it with this boy? Why did he seem so fascinated with the son of someone who had, on multiple occasions tried (and sometimes succeeded) to murder his own kind, his friends. "Maybe..." Hound noted "But I like ye, kid. You've got spirit and spunk." He told him with great honesty "So we'll be seeing more of each other." He added.

"And you're not going to turn me in?" Mark asked.

"Nah, if only because something tells me..." Hound began "That yer gonna end up doing that yerself sometime." Mark frowned at that comment, very much doubting that would be the case "For now though, I need to get back to my own home." He explained "My comrades are probably already worried given I have been gone so long."

Mark nodded his head a bit, looking towards the exit. "You should go then." He told him "I already told you, I'll be fine on my own, so you can go." He then added "I guess I'll see you later?"

"Tomorrow." Hound replied "Maybe I'll even bring ye something to eat."

Before Mark could argue, Hound had made his way through the exit he'd entered through. Mark watched the exit with confusion in his eyes, Hound was certainly a strange mech. Keeping an optic on a young human he didn't know, let alone the son of one of his (now dead) sworn enemies. What did he matter to him? What did he matter to anyone now for that matter? He tried his best not to dwell on it as he began to inspect his new "home", he had a lot of work to do, work he needed to start now.

...

"Where have you been, Hound?"

Hound stopped near the edge of the still to be completed home, and transformed before Crosshairs. Stepping forward, he patted the mech on the shoulder and shook his head. "Nowhere. I chased the signal, ended up being Cyclonus." Hound noted "We need to alert the others. He got away, so we now have a new Decepticon incursion on Earth." He explained "Luckily he didn't hurt anyone, gave one of the locals a mighty good scare though."

Crosshairs crossed his arms slightly, staring at his friend with sideways optics. Hound could tell that Crosshairs wasn't buying his "nothing happened", he never usually did buy it when Hound would lie to him. "What did you do this time, Hound?" Crosshairs questioned "Did you interfere with the humans again? You know that's not a good idea. And definitely not one that Prime would approve of!"

Taking another one of his many "cigars" out, he stared at Crosshairs with a frown. "I only got him out of the line of danger, Crosshairs." He explained "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him too. Make sure nothing goes... Awry." The mech crossed his arms at him "What was I supposed to do? Leave the petrified little guy there? That's not something Prime would have approved of either, y'know."

"There's more to it."

"Nothing more to it." Hound waved him off slightly "Don't worry about it, Crosshairs... I have the situation under more than enough control." He looked him square in the optics "If anything goes wrong, y'all will be the first to know. But right now, just trust me."

Shifting his cloak-like fabric plates slightly, Crosshairs nodded. Though by the look in his optics, Hound could tell he was not ready to let it go. But even so, he knew that he wouldn't take the news he was helping the son of a former enemy well either. "So, Cyclonus? On Earth? REALLY?" Crosshairs asked, Hound nodded his head in response "Well slag, that isn't a pretty picture to paint now is it?"

Hound shook his head. "He's just as much of an afthole as ever, too." Hound noted "I think we should try and contact Prime again. Because with Cyclonus on Earth and Galvatron still on the loose..." He shook his head "Well, we may outnumber them, but I highly doubt we can take two heavy hitters on alone like that. Not without a leader." Crosshairs seemed to nod in agreement "What do you think?"

Crosshairs stroked his chin slightly, then stared off. "Well, I'd be all for bringing Prime back to Earth. But you heard him a few weeks ago, he definitely isn't interested in coming back and endangering the humans." He leaned against the remains of the Yaegar's old barn and sighed quietly "We may just have to go it on our own for this one, Hound."

Hound didn't want to say it out loud, but Crosshairs was right. Even if Optimus got the message, there was no telling if he would still come back. He looked at the mech, and then shook his head. "It's still worth a try. After all, who knows what other 'Cons could be on their way as they speak." He noted "If Galvatron's building an army again, we're going to need a leader." He explained.

"At least we found some reinforcements who had simply stayed in hiding."

Hound nodded slightly, Sideswipe and Mirage reemergence had certainly been a relieving event. If only to know that they were not, in fact, the last remaining Autobots on Earth. But neither was a leader, or even leader material if they were going to speak with honesty. "It's definitely a start, yer right." He nodded his head "Hopefully once the humans finally reinstate NEST things will at least become easier as far as reinforcements go." He added.

"If we can actually trust the humans this time." Crosshairs replied.

Hound nodded his head, to that sentiment he couldn't argue with Crosshairs at all. He stroked his beard a little, and took a deep breath. "Listen, I've had a long and pretty rough day. I think I'm gonna get myself some recharge." The burly mech stretched his arms and legs slightly "Wake me if anything goes wrong though. Ye know I'll want at least a little piece of the action."

"Yeah." Crosshairs nodded "Night, Hound."

"Night."

As Hound transformed down, and drove to his usual recharging spot. It had definitely been a long day, at least that much, he hadn't had to lie to Crosshairs about. As he thought of the lies, he thought back on Mark. He wondered if he was getting any sleep that night, and better yet, if he had already made a run for it. He almost expected the latter, but something told him it was not the case either. "Eh, Hound, you ole soft spark." Hound murmured to himself "Don't worry yerself over a boy ye hardly know."

Yet for some odd reason, he did anyway.


	4. Feelings

**CHAPTER 4  
Feelings**

Hound arrived back in the theater the following morning with a breakfast meal from McDonalds. To his surprise, Mark actually was still there, laying across three seats and snoring away. He carefully dropped the bag of food onto the boy's lap as Mark jolted awake upon impact. He groaned, and sat up, first looking at the bag in surprise then up to see Hound. "You actually came back?" Hound inclined his head, Mark was silent "I don't get you, Hound..." He noted "Why are you helping me?"

Hound was silent, taking out another cigar. He looked at a wall thoughtfully, and shook his head. "You remind me of someone I once knew very well." Hound explained sadly "A long, long time ago..." He paused.

"If it's yourself, I already got that. You ran away when you were my age, but-."

"My son."

That made Mark frown in response, surprise in his eyes. Autobots had children? Just like humans? Or was it somehow different? The questions swirled around in his his head in a mass of confusion. "You guys can have... Kids?" Mark asked, sitting up slightly in surprise "But you're machines, aren't you just, y'know, built?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, we are machines, but not in the way you think." Hound nodded his head "We live not unlike you humans. We live, we love, we get bonded, the equivalent to your marriage..." He paused a moment "... We have sparklings we hope to teach about the world, love, and protect..." He felt towards his spark chamber slightly "Unfortunately, I lost both my bonded and my sparkling to the war... Both in the very same raid."

Mark felt an overwhelming feeling of sympathy for the mech. He almost felt as though for a moment, they were cut from the same cloth. Though he could only imagine just how horrible it felt to lose a child. "I'm sorry." Mark told him quietly "I didn't mean to be a jerk like that..."

"You're fine. Eat. You need nutrients." Hound noted, watching the boy open his food and begin to do so "You couldn't have known anyway, I hardly tell a soul about old Coldsteel." He noted, his optics softening "I lost him when he was about the equivalent of yer age. But right now he'd have been thirty vorns, or just thirty by your standards." He shook his head "Hit me right where it hurts the most when he died."

Mark nodded his head. "My mom died when I was four." Mark told him, as Hound looked at him slowly "I felt like the same thing, even though I was too little to really "get" it, I think." He took a deep breath "But now I really know what that feels like. Figures since my dad raised me after that, and well, he and I were tight." He held up two intertwined fingers for emphasis "But it's even worse because I don't feel like I ever really knew him. Or at least what he really was."

Hound took a deep intake at that, unsure of how to respond. He shifted, and seated himself on the ground with his hands rested under his chin. "I know how you feel in some ways." Hound admitted finally "I was an orphan too, although my grand-creators raised me from the time I was about... Five vorns." He explained "Wasn't there any family to take ye in?"

"If there was, I never met them. And social services didn't know about them either." He then added "I mean, the only family I knew about was my aunt. And she died during Chicago." He explained "Our family hasn't exactly had the best luck if you haven't figured it out." He added through a mouthful of pancakes "At this rate, I'm almost betting I'm next."

"Yeah, well don't take it personally." Hound noted "This war has torn apart many families. And wiped out countless others." He then added "I highly doubt you'll be next, though. You're too resilient of a little guy to let that happen." He noted as Mark finished his food "So how long are you planning to stay in Texas?"

Mark looked thoughtful, uncertainty in his eyes. It was clear that Mark wasn't one for planning, Hound had figured that even long before now. Finally, the boy shrugged. "This is the first time I've found shelter that I couldn't easily get caught in. So if I can lay low here..." Mark paused a moment "I guess I could probably stay for a month or two without getting caught if I use the back entrance." He deduced "You probably shouldn't hang around me the whole time. It could blow my cover and your friends are going to wonder where you go."

"We can meet somewhere in the middle." Hound noted "Or you could just turn yourself-."

"I get it I could do the so-called "right thing", doesn't mean I'm going to." Mark huffed slightly "Don't you get it Hound? I don't need to be taken care of. I'll take care of myself. On the run until I'm eighteen, and then I'm free." He looked up at him "But I guess making friends won't hurt me at all. So, thanks for sticking around." He stated "At least at the moment, because you're the only person since this happened that doesn't seem to have lied to me in some way."

"I don't plan to, either. If it makes you feel any better."

Mark nodded his head slightly, looking forward at where the screen once was. "We'll see." Mark replied "I kinda like you, not gonna lie. But you gotta understand that my trust of pretty much anyone at the moment is slim." He then added "Don't take it personally though."

Hound nodded his head, and watched Mark as he seemed to zone out into space. Perhaps contemplating the fact that he was placing his tentative trust in a mech he barely even knew. It was a question that even Hound himself admitted, he might have been asking himself by now too.

...

For the next week, Hound visited Mark at least once during the day. Which was both an annoyance and welcomed by the young teenager, who admittedly had gotten lonely during his time on the run. The more time Hound spent with the boy, the more he began to see the side of Mark that wasn't the rough and ready boy. He saw his moments of fear, laughter, and his moments of mourning. The last part only being spotted when Mark himself had no idea that the robot that the had somewhat "befriended" was even watching him.

The morning of Mark's second week was the first time that Mark finally opened up the tiniest bit to Hound. It was the evening, and Hound had brought over his Energon, and brought Mark a burger from McDonald's, which the boy seemed to enjoy. They were only mid-way into their meal when Mark looked up at the older mech and spoke. "Hound, do you hate my dad?" Mark asked "Honestly, I mean, without sparing my feelings."

"Hate's a strong word, youngling." Hound replied honestly "I'm not sure that "hate" is the word I would use." He added, stroking his beard slightly "Strongly disliked, definitely. But I didn't know him beyond the terrible things he did." He explained "Why would you ask that?" He questioned.

"Because I think I do."

Hound's optics looked down at Mark with a look of surprise. It was often a saying heard from a teenager, but rarely, if ever from a teenager who had lost said parent. "Again, mighty big words, younglin'." Hound replied "Didn't you tell me that your father loved you? Just because he did horrible things to others should not shape what you think of him."

"He ruined my life." Mark snapped "Why do you think I'm worried about what people would think? It's not like I could ever have a family again the second they heard the name "Savoy"." He tried to calm himself down, resting against the floor on his stomach "That's the reason I even have to wait so long. WHen I turn eighteen I can not only go out on my own, but I can change my name too."

Hound stared at the boy, taking his "cigar" out of his mouth for a moment. He could understand that, the feeling that you could never have a family now. He knew that humans could be very judgmental and chances were, many would write him off due to his father's actions. It was a sad, sad fact that he wished he could say wasn't true. "Humans are so judgmental sometimes, I agree." Hound nodded his head slowly "But surely, you could find someone out there-."

"Who wants the fourteen year old son of a crazy person?" Mark asked "Yeah, right."

Hound put a fist on the ground beside Mark, and looked the young human in the eyes. "I get it, alright?" Hound asked "But if ye ask me, sitting here and feeling sorry for yerself won't do a slagging thing." Mark frowned, and looked away at that "You act as though everything yer father did is going to define ye for the rest of yer life." He then added "But if ye hadn't noticed, I have reason to despise yer father, yet I have been taking care of ye for the last week."

"But do you legitimately care about me?" Mark asked "Or do you just feel obligated to?"

Hound was silent for a long moment, but after a moment, his optics softened. Now he put his face up close to Mark, and made sure he understood. "I like ye, kid. I told you that before. So if ye must know, I care about what happens to someone I run into... Who doesn't have a proper home or family." Mark moved back a little at the sudden seriousness in Hound's voice "I am far from a self-centered being. You came into my path and you intrigued me." He explained "And in our time together I grew to care what happened to ye. Especially given the facts I stated."

Mark looked at the mech for a long moment, his eyes widened. "I guess I never looked at my situation from the other side of things." Mark muttered, leaning back a bit "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you or anything." He explained as Hound slowly, but surely drew back "I just, I guess..."

"I know, it's hard to trust people." Hound replied, his voice calm and understanding "But maybe it's time you tried to start to have a little more faith in me than that."

Hound's statement wasn't answered immediately, at least verbally. But eventually, Mark stood to his feet, having finished the burger, and starting towards a trash can he had brought in from the outside. "Maybe." He muttered so quietly that Hound barely even heard it "I just... I don't know... You really think I shouldn't hate my dad for what he did to me?" He asked as he looked at Hound.

"I think that is something ye have to decide for yerself." Hound replied "I am merely giving you an answer to the question you asked me."

Mark nodded his head slightly, and kicked a bit of rubble to the side. It was clear that even though he said he hated his father, he wasn't entirely sure if that was true. Angry with him? Yes. But Hound had a feeling that perhaps, some part of him held onto the fact that James Savoy had at least done one thing good: been a real father to him. "I should get going back home for recharge." Hound spoke up as he himself stood up "Do you need anything before I leave?"

"No, I'm good." As Hound started towards the exit, Mark frowned "Hound?" Hound turned his head "Thanks for... At least trying to care."

Although the sentiment wasn't much, as he left, Hound marked it as, at the very least, a start.


	5. A Change of Plans

**CHAPTER 5  
A Change of Plans**

Not much time had passed before Hound found the theater marked "condemned". At first, he wondered if those who came to inspect it had found Mark and taken it away. But his answer came swiftly, as he found Mark lying in an alley beside the theater, his head rested against his backpack like a pillow. Activating his holoform, which was that of a rather burly man with a greying beard, he gently kicked Mark's leg as the boy stirred and woke up. "What happened?" He questioned, pointing to the theater.

"They came last night." Mark muttered "I went out to take a walk. And when I got here I found the notice." He commented, sitting up and trying to wipe some of the dirt and grime off of him "I heard them say something about mold and crap. They'll probably fix it up, and sell it." He commented, grabbing his backpack "Either way, I'm screwed. I could stay in there, but..."

"I know, breathing in mold spoors is dangerous for humans." Hound then motioned toward the alley "Though sleeping in filth ins't exactly a step-up, in my opinion." Mark frowned, shifting his backpack slightly "What are ye gonna do now?"

Mark shook his head, he hadn't figured that out yet. Usually, he had more time to formulate where he might go now. But he wasn't sure where the next stop was, or, better yet, how he was going to get there. It wasn't as though he had gone looking at the modes of transportation around the town yet. "You've got me." He then added "What's this anyway? How are you...?"

"Holoform technology." Hound pointed out "It's a physical manifestation of my subconscious in human form. Ye can even touch me and everything." Mark reached forward, almost expecting it to be a joke, but sure enough, it was very solid "I know, it's a little weird, you'll get used to it though." He patted Mark on the back lightly.

"I don't know if I'm going to stick around long enough for that." Mark replied "This is a small town. Without a place to lay low, I'm gonna get caught. And the whole point of this is that I can't get caught." Hound's holoform stroked his beard slightly, as Mark stared at him "What? Have you got another idea?" He asked as Hound frowned slightly "What?"

Hound shook his head slightly, and tried to straighten himself out. What he was thinking was a bad idea, a very bad idea. And one that he was pretty sure that none of the Autobots would approve of. Keeping a young human on the run inside Cade's old barn was not the worst idea, of course. Cade barely made use of it as it was. But several of the Autobots made use of it, meaning they would have to know about Mark, and the fact he was there. "Mark... Have you come to trust me, yet?" He asked.

Mark gave a "so-so" motion with his hand. "Why?"

Hound stiffened, he hated how this boy was getting under his plating. And what was more, he hated that he couldn't talk himself out of at the very least, trying. The door to his alt mode popped open, and Hound leaned against it. "Get inside, kid." Mark looked confused "I can't exactly promise that it will work out. Especially not given the circumstances... But there's only one other place I can think of that you'd be able to lay low."

"And that is?" Mark asked.

"The same place the Autobots and I are."

Mark's face fell slightly, he backed up clutching his backpack. "No way, that's a bad idea. You said there was a reason that the others don't know about me, right?" Mark asked, Hound nodded a bit "So your idea is to just surprise them with "Hey, my human friend needs a place to crash, can we keep him?"?" He questioned, putting his hands on his hips.

"If you have a better idea, I'm all audio receptors." Hound noted.

"We could just part ways?" Mark suggested "You've done a great job looking after me, Hound. Don't get me wrong." He explained calmly "But maybe this is a sign that I overstayed my welcome here... And with you." He explained "I mean, you didn't think this was going to last forever, did you?"

Mark started off from the alleyway, and for a moment, Hound sat there. Maybe the kid was right, and they were meant to cut their losses and quit while they were ahead. Maybe it was a bad idea for him to have interfered and gotten attached in the first place. But his spark tugged, and his engine revved. Something told him in the deepest part of his being that he was not meant to leave this boy at all. At least, not yet. He drove quietly towards Mark, and yet again opened the door. "Yer not getting rid of me that easily." Hound noted "If they won't let you stick around, I'll take ye out of town."

"Why would you do that for me?"

"It's what friends do." Hound noted "They help each other."

Mark looked thoughtful at that, his eyes staring up at the sky. But after a moment, he had reached forward, and clutched the door ever so slightly. It was a defining moment for him, if he went with Hound then, he had accepted him as a friend. He had accepted to leave the loneliness he felt behind him and possibly end up under full Autobot protection. But if he left now, he could again cut his losses, and forget about this whole little "adventure" all-together. He tapped his fingers against the door quietly, working this out in his head to the best of his ability.

A minute later, he had seated himself in Hound's passengers seat. "You'll take me anywhere I want to go?"

"Within reason." Hound replied.

"Okay." Mark replied, buckling in "Then drive."

...

"Have you lost your processor, Hound?"

It was certainly the reaction Mark had expected, but the way Crosshairs delivered it nearly made him jump out of his skin. He sat on a platform in the large barn, or at least, what was left of it. It looked like they had started to fix it from where Optimus had practically blown it up, but had stopped and moved onto other things. And to be honest, it was probably exactly what had happened. But it still had four walls and most of the roof, which was enough to keep him hidden. "Listen, now that they're building an actual lab attachment to the home, this is going to be nothing more than a barn." Hound commented "Mark won't even be here for its completion. He'll be long gone then. So Cade and his family will never know"

Drift stared between Hound and his human friend, stroking his chin in thought. "The boy doesn't appear to be a direct threat. He carries no weapons." Drift circled where Mark sat silently "I do not see why we cannot simply allow him a couple of days stay..."

"Two weeks." Mark stated "That's how long I planned to stay. So after that I'd be gone."

Crosshairs crossed his arms, and stared down at Mark, his optics narrowing slightly. He took a few steps forward, and looked down at him with a look of fire in his optics. "Kid, no offense, but I don't even know you." He explained "You could have fooled ole Hound into thinking you're a good guy for all any of us know." Mark frowned slightly "So I'm going to need to hear more of a reason to keep you around."

"Because we're part of the reason he's an orphan in the first place."

Mark cringed, having hoped silently that Hound would not have mentioned this at all. "What does that mean, Hound?" Drift asked, confusion now filling his optics "Who are you?" He asked Mark.

"Mark Savoy..."

There was silence among the group, though Crosshairs looked very stunned. From his corner, Bumblebee stepped forward himself, and tilted his head, as if trying to see the resemblance. "The kid looks alright to me." He piped up using a variety of sound clips "Remember we're supposed to be the good guys here." He added for good measure.

"He's the son of-!" Crosshairs began loudly

"Judge not the son by the actions of his father. But rather his own actions." Drift told him politely "I see no problem in housing him for a short while. And Sensei would quite likely put this to a, how you say, Democratic vote." He then turned towards Sideswipe, who was in another corner "Sideswipe?"

"I'd have my optics on him." Sideswipe noted "But if he doesn't cause an issue, I won't have an issue with him."

"I agree with Crosshairs." Mirage stated honestly "He's the son of a murderer, a cold blooded one at that." He explained, crossing his arms "My trust of the human beings already wears thin. I'm not about to jump on the "bandwagon" of welcoming a _Savoy _into our home for the moment."

"You know my vote." Hound noted "So I think it stands that the boy stays." He eyed Crosshairs, who looked none-too-pleased "We'll watch him for two more weeks to be sure that Cyclonus won't target him. And then I'll drive him where he choses." He then added "Until then, I'll take responsibility for him while he's here." He then added "Cade won't even ever know he's here."

"Fine." Crosshairs grunted "But he _is _your responsibility, Hound. I don't babysit, and most certainly not humans at the present time." He noted, then stared at Mark with a warning glance "And make no mistake, boy, I have my optics on you." Mark shifted uncomfortably at that "In the meantime, someone needs to get him a bath, and change of clothing. Primus almighty, boy, when was the last time you showered?"

"Last month." Mark blushed slightly.

"I'll go and hose him down." Bumblebee replied, as Mark's eyes widened.

"He's not serious is he?" Mark asked.

"He can only talk through voice clips and music, Mark." Hound chuckled slightly "Cade and his family are out of town for the next few days. I suspect he intends to take you back to the running part of the house for a shower." He noted "They did just turn the plumbing on for the first time last week." He explained "I'll handle the clothes part of it so the grumpy one over here will lighten up."

Mark sighed quietly, and stared up at Bumblebee calmly. The young yellow mech simply kept a friendly, wide smile on his face as he led him outside of the barn. Mark looked at the home, which was only half finished in some ways, just like the barn, and smiled a little. It wasn't exactly what he had planned on, but he had to admit a warm shower sounded good right about now. "You guys don't have to worry about Cade noticing. After I'm done and all, I'll just clean the towels and leave it the way it was." He shrugged "It's the least I can do."

"You're a good kid." Bumblebee replied.

"I try to be at least." Mark replied, watching as Bumblebee pointed to the doormat, which he checked under and found a spare key to the house "Perfect." He noted "Uh, thanks." He told the mech.

"It was nothing."

Mark wasn't sure he was ever going to get used to the changing voices this one had.

...

Later that night, Mark was clean and dressed up in clean clothing for the first time. He did exactly as he promised, cleaning the towels, and setting things back as they used to be. He spent most of the day getting better sleep than he had the night before. When he did wake up, he spent most of his time on his own, being a bit shy. And only after some time had passed, and night fell, he found Hound outside, smoking another of his "cigar"'s silently, and watching the stars. "You are... One crazy guy, Hound." Hound turned his head towards his human friend "I wouldn't have even half the guts to do what you did today."

Hound stared over at the young human quietly, and shrugged. "Yes, well, I felt bad that your other arrangements didn't work out." He told him, resting his arm on his knee slightly "Plus, to be honest, things would get a lot more boring without ye here." He then added "Cyclonus was the first shred of "excitement" we've had since Hong Kong."

Mark nodded his head slightly, seating himself down beside Hound, he laid back in the grass. "Crosshairs is kinda right about you. You're a little too much of a softie." Hound snorted, and turned to his friend with a raised optic ridge "I mean, yeah, I'm a good guy. But some day that's going to get you into some serious trouble dude. People take advantage-."

"Boy, I'm well aware of that." Hound noted "I may be a soft sparked mech, but are you forgetting the arsenal I carry around?" Mark gave a slight smirk at that "I'm a kind mech, not a fool. If you ever did anything to betray me..." He then began "Well, I might give you a head start, for example." Mark shook his head, staring up at him again "But I don't take you for the double-crossing type."

At this, he playfully tapped his knuckle against Mark's arm. The boy rubbed it, and looked towards the ground with a slowly growing smile. "Nah, I don't think I could do that to the first person that showed me any... _Real_ kindness since dad died." He admitted "I'm just not sure if I can trust all of you, yet. Especially not that one guy, Crosshairs, or Mirage. They didn't seem to like me at all the second they heard I was..." He explained "I mean, I guess I kinda trust you, but that's pretty... Shaky at best."

"We've gone through much, Mark." Hound replied "Give them time."

"I guess..."

Hound sighed, as he watched the boy, who seemed to be forcing himself to stay awake. No doubt he was still tired, after all, it had been a long few weeks of probably getting far from enough sleep. "I don't expect you to trust me fully yet." Hound admitted "The fact that you've even got a wavering trust for me astounds me. But all that took is time." He then added "Maybe you should give us all time."

Though Mark was silent, Hound sighed. He was hoping he would heed his advice, and even make friends with the other Autobots as he was slowly making friends with him. Mark needed to learn that others besides himself in this world could be trusted, and perhaps the more chance he got to put his trust in others, he might. After a few moments of waiting for an answer, Hound turned to find that Mark had finally stopped fighting, with his light snoring filtering up to him. "Oh well, I'll have this conversation with you another time then."

With great care, Hound carefully scooped his young human friend into his hand, and headed back into the barn. He immediately carried him towards a corner of the room where he had set a pile of hay, a blanket, and pillow. He settled Mark there, pulling the blankets over his body before patting it in a "goodnight" gesture and turning to see Crosshairs watching. "You really like that kid, don't you?" Hound was silent, though Crosshairs knew the answer anyway "You can't keep 'im, Hound. He doesn't seem to want to be kept." He explained "So you should stop getting so close to him before he breaks your spark."

It didn't sound like Crosshairs was being negative this time, but rather, being concerned. And he supposed it was with good reason, he did have a point, after all. If he became close to the human, could he honestly let him go? It was a question he had to ponder as he started off to get his own recharge.

...

A/N: I had initially planned to keep him in the theater. But I think it's more interesting with the other Autobots involved too and it didn't change anything story-wise. So here we are. LOL


	6. Talent and Questions

A/N: Can I just say, I seriously appreciate the wonderful feedback you've all been giving me. It really makes me happy to see the story getting such a positive response. So thank you. :3

...

**CHAPTER 6  
Talent and Questions**

Living out of a barn was definitely not the most ideal living situation, as Mark soon learned. Yet it was the only choice he had, and therefore, he was thankful to have that by the time his second day there came around. For once though, Mark didn't feel the loneliness he'd felt since his father had died. In fact, he felt a certain comfort at being surrounded by several mechs. With the exception being Crosshairs, who rarely said a word to him, and Mirage who went out of his way to ignore him at the present. On the upside, the other Autobots seemed very kind and even, dare he say it, welcoming. With Bumblebee being especially kind, and by far the youngest of the group.

Staying under the care of Hound was definitely the most interesting part about it. As the mech treated him well, and took care of him more now that they were in the same area constantly. He made sure he was comfortable, even having gotten him a few changes of clothing for when he did leave. And the fact he had gotten him a pillow and blanket was also a welcome feeling as well. To tell the truth, the more time they spent together the more he was beginning to think he really could trust him. But it was still a slow going process, as much as he wanted to trust him fully, he needed more time, without a doubt.

He spent most of his time as he did in the theater, drawing. It was the gift he'd been given, and practicing seemed to be the one thing that normally calmed him down. For the most part, the Autobots didn't snoop, but on occasion, one would. "Whatcha doin'?" Came a childlike voice as Bumblebee stepped up behind him from where he was seated on his makeshift "bed".

"Nothing!" Mark practically shouted, trying to close his sketch pad which Bumblebee playfully picked up "Bee!"

Bumblebee began to look it over carefully, and smirked. "You've got real talent, kid." A voice clip chimed in "You should totally do something with it, someday."

Mark smiled a bit, pushing his hair away as his cheeks turned red. His father had always said the same thing, but this was the first time anyone else pointed it out. "Thanks, Bee." Mark replied "I guess I'm okay. Dad used to say I was really good but my art teacher thought I could use some work." Bumblebee tilted his head at him curiously "What? I think we all need practice really. Even famous artists have to practice once in a while."

Mark had to smirk as the sound of "Rock Star" by Smash Mouth erupted from Bumblebee. The Autobot cut it out after a moment and simply seated himself beside the young human. Mark had to hand it to Bumblebee, he had quite the way of making a boy feel welcomed in a place where he wasn't totally sure he was. "You know, I really do want to be an artist someday. Comic books, or cartoons, something like that." Mark told him "Someday when I'm eighteen and I can't get caught or whatever."

"I'd be first in line for that." Mark laughed as Bumblebee gave a thumbs up, he looked up slowly as Drift motioned him over "Gotta head on out, little britches." He said with a cowboy voice "The bosses are calling me into work."

"Alright, Bee. Seeyah."

As Bumblebee left, Mark found that the smile he had on his face did not leave. Bumblebee definitely had that effect on him, the ability to make him smile and happy for a change. The same could be said about Hound too. "He's right, ye know." Speak of the devil, he turned to Hound "Yer just like Sideswipe's brother, Sunstreaker is with the artistic side of things." He shrugged "I was never an artistic mech myself."

Mark shrugged, and looked it over. "I think Bumblebee was overdoing it. I'm not that great, I'm just okay..." He explained as he started to continue his drawing "I mean it's supposed to be you... But I get the helmet wrong all the time." He explained, looking over at Hound "And your optics don't look centered enough." He added.

"Yer fourteen." Hound chuckled "And for a fourteen year old, I find it quite impressive." He noted, tracing his finger along the lines that made up his profile on the page "You're going to do great things with this someday kid, believe you me." He tapped the boy's chin gently "You just need to boost your confidence a little more is all."

Mark leaned back against the side of the barn, nodding his head a bit. He guessed maybe he could have been right, though he didn't know. He'd thought and dreamed about being an artist one day, but he did often wonder if he had the talent. And in this situation, it could have been that the mech's were being nice, or genuine. "Thanks, Hound." Mark finally spoke up "I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it goes though."

"Yeah, well. We wil definitely see." Hound replied "So, I was thinking about taking a drive." He spoke up "Wanna come with me and get out of the barn for a while, or am I flying solo this time?"

Mark closed the sketch pad up in response. The idea of getting out of the definitely appealed to him, after being cooped up for the last two days. He stood and put his sketchpad into his backpack. "Now you're speaking my language, Hound." He commented "Are you sure that Crosshairs won't have a conniption about that too?" Mark asked, his eyes scanning the room for the green mech "Like he does every time I'm out in the open?"

"He means well, younglin'." Hound shrugged slightly "Come on, or we won't have much time before I have to send you to bed."

"Since when do you set my bedtime?" Mark asked.

"You're in my care, and under my rules." Hound waved a finger "Youngling's need their rest."

Mark stared at him for a moment, and then laughed. "You're funny, Hound." Mark waved him off "But seriously, you're not my dad, so no offense. But I'm going to bed when I want to go to bed."

As Hound watched Mark leave, Hound frowned a bit. Did it actually... Make him sad to hear the "You're not my dad" comment? It sounded silly to him, he _wasn't _Mark's father after all. He was his friend, someone that Mark was slowly starting to put his trust in. Yet, at the same time, with Mark's young age he couldn't help but look at him in somewhat the same way that he looked at Coldsteel. With a watchful optic, calmed temperament, and most of all, a warm disposition. And in a way, it scared him.

Crosshairs was right, how was he ever going to let this boy go without getting his spark broken? Because if this was how he felt about Mark now, Primus only knew where his processor, and spark would be when the two weeks were over.

...

While Mark had laid down to sleep that night, Hound seated himself beside Drift. His arms were crossed, and he leaned against the barn slightly. "Drift, can I ask you a question?" Drift lifted an optic ridge "It involves a secret, that I need you to just... Swear to me you won't bring up to the others yet." He noted.

"Of course." Drift patted his chestplate "On my honor."

Hound shifted a bit, staring around to make sure that the others weren't around. At the moment, they had all gone out to check out a late night meteor shower. And though he doubted they would be back anytime soon, he didn't want to be wrong. "What do you think the chances are of the human government giving custody of a kid like that..." He paused, pointing to Mark's sleeping form "To a mech like me?"

Drift looked over at Hound with a frown before standing to his feet. It was clear by the look in his optics that Hound was being serious in his words, though he likely couldn't believe it. "Hound, that might be asking much of the human government." Drift replied "You barely know the boy beyond what you have learned the past two weeks. We do not know his state of mind. And our trust..." He began "Is thin at best."

"I'm not saying right now." Hound noted "But if you guys become as close to him as I am-."

"You truly wish to become his legal guardian?" Drift questioned "Amidst a war against someone you know will hunt us down, ruthlessly?"

"He needs someone to take care of him." Hound noted "He can't just spend his entire life until he's eighteen on the streets."

"Then perhaps the time has come that you must turn him in." Drift replied, his voice calm "I agree, the boy does not seem as capable as he wishes he was. That much was obvious when he appeared with an odor so fowl." Hound was silent at that, though he knew that Drift was right "However, this is not much of an alternative." He motioned around the barn.

"We'll be back at NEST in a month or two."

Drift rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and looked at Hound. The mech understood, even if it could happen, they couldn't do anything yet. He needed to know more about Mark, _they _needed to know more about Mark. And what's more, he had to get Mark to trust them more if they had any hope of the boy even agreeing. "You have a big spark, my old friend." Drift told him gently "But we must handle things realistically. We cannot take every lost human in, if we did..." He paused "Well, you understand."

Hound hated it when Drift was right, but right now, he knew he made a good point. He straightened himself slightly, and shook his head. "Yer right. I need to put thoughts like that outta my head." He grunted "I just can't help it. He's the same age my son was in our years... Its just... Flustering that Primus would put him in my path if I can't even help him." He muttered.

"Perhaps you are meant to help him in other ways." Drift told him "You both have faced losses that would kill most inside. Yet together, no untrained eye could tell." Hound stared at Drift slowly "I sense much anger towards his father in young Mark. Much grief too." He noted "Something I believe you are helping him with, in your own way."

Hound rested his hand against the barn wall, and nodded slowly. Again, it was a fine point all on its own, maybe that was the only reason they were ever meant to meet. So that Hound could help him get through the grief that he knew haunted the young boy more than he would have liked to admit. "Thanks for talking me down, Drift." He finally spoke up again "I think I needed that dose of reality ye gave me."

"Anytime, Hound. And don't worry, I won't alert Crosshairs to these... Thoughts of yours."

As Drift went back to whatever he was working on, Hound sighed and rumbled his engine a bit. What had he been thinking, it was a silly thought. Looking at Mark and thinking that he may have, even possibly, had the possibility of being a father again in front of him. It would never work, and even if it could, he was almost certain that Mark would never agree to it. As Hound moved towards the entrance, and stepped out into the night, he didn't even notice as Mark still laid awake, though he faced the wall.

Had Hound actually asked that? It was something Mark tried to comprehend, yet couldn't bring himself to. Hound had thought about taking custody of him? HIM? The son of his former sworn enemy, the kid who tried to push him and the others away at every chance he had? Why would he want that? If he had been Hound, he'd probably have looked forward to getting him out of his hair as soon as humanly possible. Why did he care? Why did Bumblebee care? He sighed quietly and pulled the blankets further over his body.

He wasn't sure how to take in this new information, but he knew he could push the questions away for now. Drift had told him the honest truth, and maybe it would be the end of it. _What if you don't want that to be the end of it?_ Mark thought to himself quietly.

That, even to Mark, was a very good question.


	7. A Danger in Their Midst

**CHAPTER 7  
A Danger in Their Midst**

Mark tried to put what he had heard out of his head as another couple of days passed. Though he could tell he wasn't the only person with his mind on it. Hound kept his optics on him, and they were always filled with quiet wonder. Though Mark didn't know what to make of the whole situation, a small part of him did wonder what it would be like. How easy would it be to be raised by a giant robot? He was pretty sure the answer was "not easy at all", but that was up for debate. He hugged his legs to his chest, could he even trust someone to take care of him again? Hound had proved to be a good mech, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to put that much trust in him.

That evening, Mark was seated outside and out of the range of Cade's home. For no other reason than the fact that he needed some time on his own. He sighed, looking up at the stars silently. "Kid, aren't you supposed to be back in the barn?" Mark turned his head towards Crosshairs as he made his way beside him "I thought that was part of the deal."

"Hound said I can go out as long as I'm careful." Mark shrugged.

If Crosshairs thought Mark would listen to him, he may have argued otherwise. He seated himself down, and crossed his arms, watching out in the distance. Mark was clearly uncomfortable when the mech did, but tried to hide it. "If it means anything at all to you..." Mark told him calmly "I'm sorry for what my dad did to your friends. I'm pretty pissed off about it too."

"You?" Crosshairs snorted "What reason could you have to get angry?"

"You're living, breathing person. You all are. And killing is wrong, or at least it's supposed to be." Mark told him bluntly "Dad taught me that, but apparently he was a hypocrite." He explained "And besides... I kinda... Hero-worshipped you guys back in the day. Even after Chicago really..." He pushed his hair back in embarrassment "Don't tell Hound that, I don't want him to think I hung out with him because of that."

Crosshairs crossed his arms, and raised an optic ridge curiously. Why did Mark even care what any of them thought of him? He was only there for a short time, and before too long he'd be on his way. "I'm surprised that you even care considering the disposition of your father." Crosshairs snorted "Personally I expected you to mooch off of our kindness and make yourself scarce." He then added "I must say I am surprised in that regard."

Mark wasn't sure if it was meant as a compliment. In fact, he was almost certain that Crosshairs wasn't sure himself. But he stood to his feet, and put his hands in his pockets. "I never asked for his help." Mark admitted "He gave it to me himself, I was ready to go and leave you guys behind. Because I feel like I've let him do enough for me." He then added "He practically had to drag me here."

"Why?" Crosshairs asked "I would think-."

"Don't act like you know me like that, Crosshairs." Mark replied bluntly "Hell, you didn't even know my father if I'm going to be honest. You don't know what I'm like, you haven't even _tried _to learn." Crosshairs leaned back, surprised at the sudden outburst "You want to hold my dad against me? Fine. I don't care if you do because like I said, I'm just as mad at him." He then added "But don't sit there and assume I'm _anything _like that."

Crosshairs sat there for a long moment as Mark began to walk back towards the barn. He had to admit, if nothing else, he had to admire the fact that Mark didn't take anyone's "crap", including his. "You have real guts talking to someone as big as I am like that." Mark turned his head as Crosshairs stood to his feet "I didn't mean to upset you." He explained "I'm simply... Confused by you."

"What's there to be confused about?" Mark threw up his arms in confusion.

"You're complicated." Crosshairs explained "You reject your own father for something you were never even a part of. And yet, you mourn him every day. And don't think none of us have noticed." He then added "It's the same reason I'm not sure whether I can trust you, or Hound should be. Your loyalties are so confused that it's dangerous."

"What if I'm just neutral to the whole thing?" Mark asked.

"I find that impossible to believe when it comes to a child."

"What do I have to do to get you off my back, man?" Mark asked "Leave?"

"On your own? That'd crush Hound, and I don't want that for him."

"You're more confusing than I am then!" Mark shouted "You're not even making sense. Why would he be upset?"

Crosshairs was silent, leering down at the young human with a look of confusion in his optics. "You really don't understand just how much he cares about you, do you?" He put his hands on his hips slightly "I think it's fairly obvious that he sees you as a surrogate son. And the only way for this not to end badly is for him to give you up on his own time."

"Our friendship... Isn't like that." Mark replied uncertainly "We're just friends... Nothing else."

"You don't sound so sure of yourself there, pipsqueak."

At this point, Mark started off without another word, leaving Crosshairs with narrowed optics. He sighed, this was what he got for trying to have a talk with the kid and understand what his _deal _was, he supposed. He simply hoped that Mark wouldn't got to Hound about it, as the last thing he needed was to be yelled at for trying to talk to the kid.

...

Mark avoided Crosshairs for the rest of the evening and most of the next day. He didn't bring what they had talked about up to Hound, there was no reason to pit the two Autobots up against each other after all. But now, Mark couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt about the whole situation. If Hound looked at him as some sort of surrogate son, he didn't want to break his spark. But he didn't want to lie and say that he trusted him on that level yet either, because in all honesty, he wasn't sure how high his trust went for the Autobot yet.

So instead, he decided to keep his mind off of the situation for now at least. And simply enjoy what time he was spending with the Autobots at the present time rather than focusing on his or Hound's future. That day, Hound had taken Mark along when the Autobots decided to do some training some miles off from the Yaegar Farm. And for the first time, Mark got a good look at just what kind of arsenal that Hound seemed to have. "So..." Mark stated as Hound was loading up his weapons with rubber guns for the training "Why the small third world army, exactly?"

Hound chuckled slightly as he gave one of his rifles a once over. "Well... When the war began, I had just started my family." Hound began to explain "You could say I was a little overprotective of them. And so I kept a few guns around the house, just in case." He nodded slightly, and hung the riffle at his side "Then I left my neutrality to join the Autobots and discovered I'd become a pretty fragging good shot."

"So you became a what..."

"My official title is a "Commando". Though I also work as a regular soldier in the army." Hound noted "You ever learn how to shoot a gun, Mark?" He asked thoughtfully as he took his "cigar" out of his mouth and stared at him curiously.

Mark shook his head, his dad had offered before, but he had no desire. Even though he was tough, he knew that guns were mostly used for one thing, and he was not the type of person who could easily bring himself to kill someone. "I've never been a fan of guns. I mean, I get it, they do a lot of good... I just could never use it, y'know?" Mark commented "I'm too soft." He admitted.

"There isn't anything wrong with that." Hound replied calmly "It's perfectly natural to be a little afraid of what comes from firing a gun." He noted "Or using a knife, or any other weapon for that matter." He then added "Yer forgetting yer talking to the universe's biggest softy here. The first time I actually used one of these scared the pit out of me." Mark chuckled a little at that "I had to shoot to kill and I could barely live with myself that night."

Mark could imagine killing someone was definitely not something that was easy to live with. He looked over Hound's rifle with a bit of awe and fear at the same time, how many Decepticons had he killed using that? How many people did his dad kill with his own guns? Autobot, Decepticon, or human? "Mark?" Mark looked up at Hound "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Mark shrugged "So you're going to train with guns? With real bullets?"

"Rubber ones." Hound shook his head "They'll bounce right off of us, but the idea is the same. You'll need to keep a safe distance, it won't hurt us at all, but to a human even a rubber bullet will hurt." Mark cringed at the thought "But stick around, you're going to enjoy seeing your... Pal in action." He noted, loading up the rubber bullets into another gun "Maybe I'll even show off a little."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Bumblebee quipped from the side with a little laughter following in the voice clip "We all know _I'm _the top gun around here, hombre."

"That's 'cause Ironhide and I trained ye." Hound noted "But I seem to remember I didn't teach you _everything_ I know."

"Bring it on, old man!" Bumblebee replied with a beckoning motion.

"Wise-aft."

Mark settled in as Bumblebee and Hound paired up, and watched. He was stunned at the grace and stamina with which Hound moved himself in "battle". He'd clearly only seen some of that when Cyclonus had attacked, and now, he could see it in full. He was good, going through weapon after weapon without much difficulty. And while he put up a good fight, Mark had to cringe as Bumblebee went down for the count about a half an hour later after Hound had thrown him (carefully) over his back.

"Yeah, I'd say I'm still top gun here, Bee." Hound chuckled "Yer getting better with yer weapons though. Those stingers of yours nearly got me a couple of times." He helped Bumblebee to his feet slowly, and then turned towards Mark "So, what do ye think, shorty?"

Mark had to admit, he couldn't have not put a thumbs up at Hound even if he tried. "That was awesome." Mark shouted "I didn't know anyone could fire off that many of weapons at one time. No wonder that one freaky purple dude went down so fast!"

Hound chuckled at that, approaching Mark and patting the young human on the back. He began to reload some more rubber bullets into his guns before turning towards Bumblebee. "Give me a few minutes to reload Bee, and we'll go for round two." Bumblebee gave a thumbs up of his own and a "Bring it on!" sound clip "So you were impressed, eh?"

"Majorly. I never knew something so big could move like that."

"Ye making fun of my weight, younglin'?"

"No."

Hound carefully rubbed the boy in the ribs, causing him to chuckle a bit. "I think you were."

"Hound, I was not!" Mark shouted "Come on man, I'm ticklish!"

As the Autobot continued to mess with his young human friend, someone else watched from afar, on a large hilltop far from sight. Cyclonus crouched on one knee, using his optics to zoom in on the pair. The boy was still _with _the Autobot? That was most certainly an interesting turn of events for him. "Oh, Hound..." Cyclonus stood to his feet slowly "You should know so much better. It would be such a shame if he had to pay in return for how you humiliated me."

The smile that curved along Cyclonus's mouth only widened as he turned and made his way away from the scene. Allowing them, at least for the moment, to be blissfully unaware of the danger in their midst.


	8. No Choice Left

**CHAPTER 8  
No Choice Left**

"The sunset's really pretty tonight."

Mark ran a hand through his hair slowly as he and Hound watched the sunset that night. Hound chuckled at his young friend's attempt to create small talk, and smiled at him. He looked over at Mark thoughtfully for a moment, and then spoke up. "Y'know it's truly a sight..." He carefully moved his hand underneath Mark who gave a startled cry and deposited him carefully onto his shoulder "From my height."

Hound calmly stood to his feet as Mark clutched tightly. "Whoa! WHOA!" He stated quietly.

"Yer fine." Hound held him with a hand "You won't fall Mark."

As he was finally standing at full height, Hound turned back towards the sunset. Mark was stunned, it was just as beautiful as Hound had suggested. His eyes widened, and he clutched onto a bit of his shoulder. "Wow, this is... This is how you see everything?" Hound nodded with a grin "This is so cool, Hound. Now I'm kinda jealous of you." He chuckled a little.

Hound smirked, and rubbed his thumb along Mark's head. "Well, you get a real treat then, I suppose." He explained "Few humans really get to see from this height for just a relaxing moment." He noted "Most of the time, it's other, more war-related reasons." He smiled up at the boy who still seemed awestruck "Is it really that amazing for you humans?"

"And a little scary..." Mark chuckled nervously "I would really hate to be the guy who fell from this high."

Hound laughed slightly. "You're safe with me, Mark." Hound replied softly "Always."

For once, Mark was surprised to realize that he didn't doubt that. Somehow he was slowly beginning to feel safe around the mech, like around him, no one could, or would hurt him. He bit his lip slightly, unsure of how to respond to that out loud. The answer that came out of his mouth surprised him, nearly making him bite his tongue. "I know." It was so soft that only Hound could have possibly heard it.

Hound was silent a moment, and then shifted. "So, I've been thinking..."

"Don't hurt yourself." Mark snorted.

"Punk." Hound jested, then added "I was going to say that I was thinking when I take you out of town. Maybe I can stick around with ye just a little bit longer." Mark turned to Hound in surprise "You've been being looked after by me for so long... I'm kinda worried that if I leave you on yer own right away it won't end well." He then added "I can stick around ye, at least until yer on your feet."

"Hound, you've done plenty for me." Mark replied "You don't need to-."

"I want to."

"I get that, I do." Mark told him quickly "And if you could do that it would be great. But the Autobots _need_ you, Hound." Hound frowned at that "I'm just a kid; you've got a whole planet to worry about." The next word pained him more than anything "I can't ask you to take care of me for the rest of my life. Even if I know you would if you could."

Hound looked away at that comment, as if feeling uncomfortable. He knew the boy was right, if he could take care of him for the rest of his life, he would. He'd do it in a sparkbeat at this point. But what government would let him? He knew it would be a long string of custody fights, arguments, and the like. He didn't know if he could Mark through that, or the war itself. "I... Understand." He finally spoke "If us parting ways is what you want this week, then that's what we'll do."

"Please don't be upset." Mark replied "I really like you, Hound." Hound peered over at him "If it hadn't been for you I'd probably be dead right now, or in that freak Cyclonus's hands." Hound was silent for another several moments "And you're the only reason I have even a little trust for anyone again." Hound smiled a little at that "But you and I know if we were both on the run, someone's going to see us. And this whole thing will come crashing down."

Hound hated to say that that was indeed the truth. There was still an amber alert out, and at any time, it could get them both into a heap of trouble that Hound didn't want to be in. "Mark..." Hound was silent for a moment "Sometime tomorrow, I want to have a serious talk with you." Mark frowned slightly "When it's just the two of us."

"Why?"

"Because I want this to be private."

Hound tried to hide the longing look in his optics. But he knew he was going to do it: he was going to ask Mark to turn himself in. So that he could recharge at night without worrying every day that he may be on the news, having been found dead in a ditch somewhere. It was becoming increasingly clear that it would be the case if Mark left that week and he never saw him again. It wasn't living in his care, but at the very least, Mark would be in a home, safe, and cared for. Which was without a doubt the next best thing.

"Hey!" Hound turned towards Crosshairs, who was motioning him over "C'mon you two, I want to get back and get a cube of Energon. I'm starving." He then added "You can gawk at the sunset on the way back."

"Alright."

Hound set Mark back on the ground, and transformed, opening his door for Mark. "Hound, are you okay?"

"Fine."

Or at least, he hoped he would be. And for that matter, he hoped Mark would be too.

...

Hound and the other Autobots had only left for a moment the next day when the sound of cannon fire filled their audio receptors. It was loud, and defining, and at first, they believed it to be the Yeagar's new home itself. It was only after tearing back down the road they had driven down that they quickly saw the remains of what had been the new barn, up in flames and with rubble all around. "_MARK!_" Was all he could get from his cracked voice as the large, purple Cybertronian jet took off into the distance.

For a moment, he went back to the day of the raid on the base where his family lived. He remembered the rubble, the pain, the fear, the anguish as he pulled the bodies of both his sparkmate and son out of the rubble of their home. _NO! You can't have him! _He shouted through his thoughts as he tore off towards the rubble _YE TOOK EVERYTHING ELSE FROM ME! Mark isn't yers to take!_

"What the hell is going on!?" He could hear Cade Yaegar shout, rushing out front from inside the house.

Hound made it to the rubble, and immediately began to tear it away. His optics searched frantically for any biological sign. There was nothing, no life signal, no nothing. He could feel his energon tears start to surface. "SLAG IT MARK!" He slammed his fist to the side "You can't be dead! Yer NOT DEAD!"

"Mark? Who's Mark?" Cade stopped beside Crosshairs, and stared up at him "What's wrong with Hound?"

Both Drift and Crosshairs exchanged worried glances, unsure of how to reply. It seemed as though they were all trying to take in what had happened. Until coughing filled the air, followed by choking. Hound's head shot up, and he stood, stepping over the rubble. He found Mark lying on the ground, several feet from the remains of the barn, but somewhat burned and covered in ash. "Primus almighty..." He breathed easily "Mark, Mark, it's okay..."

"C-Cyclonus." Mark choked, trying to sit up and failing "I was right outside the barn... I t-tried to move."

Cade made his way around the corner of the barn, as his eyes immediately fell on Mark. Or rather, Hound's petrified form that hovered over Mark before picking him up, and cradling him against his chestplate. "Would someone mind telling me what a boy was doing in my barn?" Cade looked over expectedly at Tessa "I thought you and Lucky Charms were still going strong?"

"I don't have time to explain." Hound noted "He's been hurt pretty slaggin' bad. I need to take him to a hospital." He noted.

"Let me take him, I can take him." Cade motioned forward "If any of you guys show up-."

"I need to-!"

"Hound, listen to me." Cade held up his hands "I don't know who he is, but he's a kid. And if he's hurt enough for a hospital, I'm your best bet. I'll take Bee, he's the most inconspicuous of you guys." He stated as he pointed towards Bumblebee "You gotta trust me, Hound. You don't want to make a scene."

Hound looked down at Mark, who was fighting to keep awake, and then down at Cade. Slowly, he crouched down, and deposited Mark into his arms as gently as he could. The man looked up at Hound for a long moment, then at the boy. "Mark, you can trust him, Cade's a friend." He noted at Mark's look of utter fear in his eyes "I'll be right behind ye, kiddo. It's going to be okay."

"They're going to ask for a name." Cade commented.

"... Mark." Hound told him slowly "His name's Mark Savoy." By the look on his face, Cade seemed to make the connection.

No more words were exchanged as Bumblebee transformed down, throwing open his car door. Hound could feel his spark nearly beating out of his chest as Cade wasted no time flooring the gas and driving down the road. "Hound..." Sideswipe spoke up as he noticed Hound starting to shake "You couldn't have seen that coming. That missile came out of nowhere, we're just lucky-."

"I'm going to kill Cyclonus." Hound muttered "Mark could have died!"

Crosshairs looked thoughtful. "And since he lived... We all know he's going to try again." Crosshairs commented "Now do you see why we shouldn't have brought him into this, Hound? Because **this **is what the Decepticons do!" He shouted, his voice sounding loud and frustrated "Primus, if Cyclonus has a target on his head..."

"This isn't my fault!" Hound rebottled "If I hadn't come into contact with him, he would be _dead_ right now!"

It was then that Tessa spoke up for the first time, her voice wavering. "Do one of you guys think you could fill me in on what just happened?" She asked "Who was that kid?" She asked louder this time.

Hound wouldn't stick around to answer the question. As the next thing that anyone knew, he had transformed down and taken off, his anger slowly, but surely building in him. How could this have happened? Mark had done nothing to Cyclonus, how could that mech be so cowardly as to attempt to blow up a child? His engines roared once again as he felt another bit of rage build up. Cyclonus wouldn't get away with that, he swore. He would not get away with attacking one of his friends like that, a cowardly deed like that would go punished.

But for now, with Cyclonus at the advantage with jet engines. He could only tear through the scenery of Texas, and try and resist the urge to shoot everything in sight.

...

When he returned later that day, he found himself greeted by a woman who introduced herself as Dana Walsh. A member of the human group that called themselves the Department of Social Services. And none to his surprise, the group had not let the fact that a young boy from an amber alert had just turned up in Texas, having nearly been blown up. "So let me get this straight..." Dana commented, sitting on a log outside the home with the group of Autobots standing in front of her, with the exception of Bumblebee, who was still on guard at the hospital. "You've known that Markus Savoy was here for almost three weeks and never thought to-."

"Only I did." Hound interrupted "No one had any idea that he was even here until I brought him to the barn..." Dana frowned at that, taking a note on her clipboard "I'm still waiting for you or Cade to explain to me whether he's alright or not." Dana was silent at that, taking the glasses off her face "Despite what you may believe, I am worried out of my processor."

Dana sighed, and looked thoughtfully back up at him. "If you're going to insist on asking, Markus is fine." Hound sighed in relief "He's a lucky kid, very minor burns, a broken arm, and a few broken ribs." She then added "If this so-called "Decepticon"'s missile had hit any closer though he wouldn't have made it." Hound looked down, guilt pulling at him.

"If I may ask..." Hound paused "What will happen to him now?"

"He'll recover in the hospital, and then he'll go to a foster home." Dana explained "Like he should have been in months ago."

Crosshairs immediately stepped forward at that, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that's out of the question." Dana raised an eyebrow at that "Ms. Walsh, the mech that nearly killed him today, Cyclonus, will target him again when he finds out he's alive." The woman frowned "As much as I disliked his father, Markus now needs to be under protective detail. And I don't suppose we can just assign him a guardian in this case."

"No shit." Dana replied "But what do you expect me to do? I can't just throw you on every foster home he goes to. If he needs protective detail... Well, I'm afraid that's out of the question." She explained "Unless I can guarantee every home he goes to is affiliated with you people. And honestly, I can't exactly promise that... No matter how much of a threat this "Cyclonus" poses."

"That's an unwise direction to take." Drift told her calmly "He nearly died today."

"On **your** watch."

"Because at this point we thought Cyclonus had forgotten him." Drift argued "It would not happen a second time."

Hound was silent as this discussion went on, turning around and walking a small distance. This was a terrible position he had put them both in. Mark was okay, yes, but if he went to a foster home _now_ things were going to go to hell quite fast. For a moment, he looked into the distance, and then he finally turned around. "And what if one of _us _took him ourselves?" He spoke up, his optics rotating "We'll be at NEST Base here in Texas soon. We have plenty of room to convert one of the barracks into a bedroom." He then added "And until he could move in, we could get one of the NEST operatives that do foster care to take him with Autobot supervision. Most of them don't do long-term, but I'm sure they could take him for a few months."

"Hound-." Crosshairs began to interject before Hound threw up a hand.

"You can't actually be serious." Dana laughed.

"What would one have to do?" Hound noted "Hypothetically if we wanted to take it upon ourselves to protect and take care of him."

"As in, you...?" Dana noted "The Autobot that harbored a runaway and practically kidnapped him?" She asked.

Hound looked down at her, then back at Crosshairs. The mech looked none-too-happy, but even he had to understand. At this point, they had no choice if they wanted to be certain that they would not be responsible for the loss of an innocent life next time. And after a moment, it was clear that Crosshairs had come to that conclusion himself, as he slowly backed off. "Yes." Hound noted "I am suggesting myself to take legal guardianship of Markus Franklin Savoy."

"You can't be serious."

"What would I have to _do_?" Hound insisted.

Dana stood there for a long moment, her eyes focused on Hound. "Come with me." Dana finally spoke up "I'm going to need to talk to my superior before I can even tell you if it's possible." She noted "This is not a typical case."

"Call who you need to." Hound insisted.

As Dana walked towards her car, and Hound started toward her, Crosshairs held his arm out. "Think about what you're doing, Hound." Crosshairs told him in a low voice "If you do this... If you go through their legal proceedings to become a "foster" parent, you can't take it back without hurting him."

Hound stood there for a long moment, mulling the thought over in his head. "I already have thought about it." Hound told him quietly, pushing Crosshairs' arm down "Trust that I know what I'm doing, Crosshairs." He told him calmly "We no longer have any other choices."

Hound only hoped that this would work.

...

A/N: Woo, longer chapter. I had originally thought to end it at the second part of the chapter, but it felt too anti-climactic for me. And as for how this all goes for Hound, whelp, I'll see you all next chapter! ;)


	9. Making Plans

**CHAPTER 9  
Making Plans**

"You have to go to these foster care classes for ten weeks."

"I'm aware, Crosshairs."

"And we'll need his room set up beforehand too?" Crosshairs threw his hands up "Did you even think before you agreed-?"

"Crosshairs. I know." Hound stood to his feet from the grassy plains "What choice do we have, though? Mark's a target now, so much so we have three of us stationed at that hospital." He explained "And with the situation itself, one us was gonna have to take him. So why not me?" There was a long silence between the two mechs "This way, we don't have to worry about if he moves. We won't let him move."

Hound knew that Crosshairs wasn't very happy with it, but he tried to push that out of his processor. Mirage wasn't happy either, he'd barely talked to him since he'd come back from talking to the woman about his work. "So we what? Put him with a NEST family until you can get custody of him?" Hound nodded, and Crosshairs sighed "You should have just left him, Hound. I know it's not your style but this has taken a far more complicated path than it needed to."

Hound shuttered his optics, knowing that Crosshairs was partially right. But at the same time, he had wanted this, even if he couldn't admit it yet. He'd wanted nothing more than to become Mark's guardian, and now he would get his wish. So long as the young man didn't run the second that he found out. "Listen, Crosshairs, I have made my decision. If you don't want to help with him that's fine." Hound told him "But I've made my choice to take care of this boy and keep him safe, as we should for any ally that needs it." He then added "If Optimus were here, he'd do the same thing, and you know it."

"That's low you know, playing the Prime card." Crosshairs replied.

Hound sighed, and looked down a bit before staring Crosshairs in the optics. "Think of it this way, Crosshairs. What if that was your son? And he was in danger, alone, and afraid. But you weren't alive to take care of him and help." Crosshairs optics softened "Wouldn't you want someone, former enemy or not to step in and take care of him?" He questioned "To give him a better chance in life than just begging on a street corner?"

"Our enemies are Decepticons mostly, and-."

"Some Decepticons have sparks, they're just on the wrong side." Hound argued.

"Fine. Yes, I suppose I would." Crosshairs replied with a frustrated grunt "You really want this, don't you? To be his surrogate father?" Hound nodded his head slowly "I hope you know what you're doing, Hound. Because taking care of and raising someone outside your own species won't be an easy task." He explained "You're lucky you'll have at least some of our help."

"Should I really call _your _help lucky?" Hound teased.

"I haven't fought things too hard, have I?" Crosshairs replied with a snort.

"Only every step of the way."

Crosshairs had the desire to flip his close friend the bird, but slowly fought it off. "So, you're going to go tell the kid, right?" Crosshairs noted "We don't even know that he won't run the second you do." Hound frowned "What?"

"Judging by what we talked about yesterday, I think he wants this. He just won't say it." Hound shook his head "Now I really have to get this filled out, Crosshairs. Not to mention I have to speak to Colonel Lennox about the situation so he can get approval to house him on-base. So if we're done here..." He looked at his friend expectedly, but the mech finally nodded "We'll talk about this later."

As Hound left, Crosshairs crossed his arms, only turning as Drift approached. The mech expected a spiritual talk at any moment, and one he didn't want to hear right now at that. "I think it will do us some good to have a youngling around base again." Crosshairs turned to him "Despite all our suffering these past few months, perhaps such youth may bring happiness to our lives."

"Don't tell Hound I said this..." Crosshairs stated quietly "But I think he's doing the right thing too, I just wish it didn't have to come to it." He muttered, clearly not happy with that at all "Look, I'm gonna go get some recharge before I blow a fuse just thinking about today." He grunted "I'm gonna need it if I'm gonna get through tomorrow."

"A pleasant recharge to you, Crosshairs."

Crosshairs gave another grunt as he transformed down and took his place near the house. Had he really just admitted that Hound was doing the right thing? What in the world had possessed him to do that? Of course he had at least partially thought that, but admitting it meant that some small part of him cared about what happened to the boy. His engine rumbled, and he let his systems shut down, he needed to silence himself before he had admitted he honestly cared any further for this enemy spawn.

The last thing he needed was anyone thinking he was going soft.

...

When Mark came to, he was in a strange white room he didn't recognize. Immediately, he was aware, and thrashing, or rather trying to as pain shot through his arm. A hospital, how had he gotten into a hospital? He vaguely remembered the blast, and Hound holding him. But after that, his memory was lost to him. "Mark! Mark!" Mark's head shot to the side, finding Hound's holoform "Easy, boy, easy... You'll hurt yourself."

"What am I doing in a hospital?" Mark breathed "Hound, you didn't-."

Hound held up a hand, locking eyes with Mark. "You were severely hurt, Mark. You needed a hospital or a medic, and unfortunately, as of now, we lack a proper one." Mark moaned, frowning a bit as he laid his head to the side "It was either take you here and save yer life... Or keep our deal and let ye die, and you'd better slagging believe the latter wasn't even an option."

"How long was I out for?"

"Only the past twenty-four hours."

Mark rubbed the back of his neck with his good arm slightly, sighing. So this was it, his time on the run was over. He was going to be turned over to social services, and whether he liked it or not, he was going into foster care. A part of him wanted to scream at Hound, for letting him live to go through that, but the other knew that he had done the right thing. "So I guess that's it then." Mark replied "You guys are going to have to give me up, or whatever."

Hound's face seemed to contort a bit, and he looked thoughtful. What was wrong? Had they decided not to put it in after all, had he decided on something else? "For a few months, give or take, yes, that will be the case." Mark raised his eyebrows and Hound looked down at him "Mark, I was wondering what ye would think about coming to live with me for a while..."

Mark was silent for a moment. "The barn's gone though. Cyclonus blew it up, right?" Mark asked "And the government wouldn't let me live there anyway, that'd never work..."

"I was thinking more on a military base, with NEST." Hound told him calmly "We'll be moving there in a few months time. And until I can get the approval of social services to foster you, we'll put you in a short-term foster home with one of its members. You'll be watched over by one of us, and safe." Mark blinked at that "We've done a lot of thinking the past twenty-four hours, if ye couldn't see."

"You're going to take me in?"

Hound nodded his head, he didn't even have to think about how to answer that one. He held a hand out, and ran it along Mark's cheek carefully The boy closed his eyes and leaned back. "If you'll trust me enough to take good care of ye." He explained, removing his hand after a moment "I lost a son, and you lost a father... And I thought perhaps... We can work on making that void a little smaller." Mark had a ghost of a smile on his face at that.

"Social services will let you?"

"On the condition I go through the legal process." Hound nodded "It'll take time, and a lot of people are going to fight me on the subject. I can't promise it will be an easy or a quick road. Ye may not even get to see me for a couple of months." Mark nodded his head slowly "But if you want to come and live with me - live with _us_... I'll keep fighting."

Inside, Mark thought over the whole situation quietly. He had no idea what to say, could he actually live with these Autobots? Live under their rules? Live under their care? Start to look at Hound as less of a friend and more of the surrogate parent that he was so severely lacking in his life. With a long intake of breath, he slowly but surely nodded his head. "Okay." Mark stated quietly "I think I could get used to that." He looked at Hound "Does that mean I'm staying here?"

"Yes." Hound nodded his head slowly "They're working to bring your remaining things from your former home." He explained "I hope you're really okay with this, Mark. I understand it's going to be a tough transition... Having to rely on someone again." Mark was silent at that "But I'm going to try to do right by ye, like I wish I could have by my own son." He noted.

"I know... You were already pretty good at it before." Hound chuckled slightly at that "Just don't expect me to start calling you "dad" or anything... I'm not really sure I'm ready for that yet." He explained "Last time I put my faith in a "dad". Well..."

"I never expected you to."

As Hound slipped his holoform's hand on top of Mark's the boy relaxed. Somehow, he found himself ever so slightly holding it back. Perhaps he needed the extra reassurance that everything was going to be okay, or maybe he just wanted to. But he knew as the mech squeezed back that everything _was_ going to be okay now. "Alright, you're still in dire need of rest." Hound stated as he gently released his hand "Get some sleep, you need it."

"Alright." Mark replied "I'll see you later?" He asked.

"Count on it." Hound replied "As long as you're here I'll be visiting."

As Mark turned over and Hound fizzled out, the mech could only hope for as smooth a transition for the rest of the process as this had been.


	10. The Arrival

**CHAPTER 10  
The Arrival**

The next months passed with much awkwardness. As Hound had thought he would, he fought back and forth with social services. Who often stated that he had no right to raise someone outside of his species. But he never gave in or up, even when they constantly tried to say "no", he went to all his classes, he put NEST through the home study, which was overseen by Colonel William Lennox, which they barely passed due to the chaos on base, but still managed to none-the-less. And while all this happened, and he received his license, Hound waited for the okay to bring Mark back to the NEST Base they now called home again.

Around three-thirty one afternoon four months after the process started, Hound's comm beeped. "Ms. Walsh, always a pleasure to hear from you." He spoke into his comm link "Were you calling to give me a progress report on how Mark's doing? He hasn't skipped any more classes, has he?"

"I was actually calling to congratulate you, Hound." Hound immediately stood from his seated position at his post in the communications bay "I've just been given the OK to place Markus Franklin Savoy into the care of one: Autobot Hound." He was nearly ready to rush out at that moment "But hold on before you get _too _excited. Given your... Unusual circumstances, I have been told to visit you twice every two weeks." Hound nodded, he could do that "And what's more... This is on a very trial run basis for my boss, and as such, at the first sign this new "alien" environment is becoming detrimental to his health..."

"He'll be removed, I understand your concern." Hound nodded his head "What put me over the top? Just last week they were saying that-."

"My recommendation and that of his CASA worker." Dana replied calmly "You're the most persistent prospect I've seen in years, and Markus has continually voiced his desire to live with you." Hound smiled a little at that "As far as I'm concerned you've earned this on a trial basis and we'll see how well it goes." She explained.

"Thank you." Hound replied "When can I-?"

"You don't come to him, he comes to you. Please tell Colonel Lennox that Markus and I will be arriving around six o'clock in the afternoon." Hound nodded his head, it only gave them a short amount of time, but they would make it work "I'll see you then."

"Alright."

The moment he cut out on the comm link, the base became a whirlwind of panic. Lennox had labeled this moment "Code: Purple", in order for all the higher members of the NEST hierarchy would be there. While most everyone else was allowed to go about their day as they normally would, it went without saying that their best behavior on-base was appreciated. They finished gathering who they needed within five minutes of when Lennox got a call. "Yep, that's her, send her through to the main hangar." Hound heard him speak before he quietly turned to him "Nervous?" Hound could only nod "Don't be. It's going to be fine."

"I haven't been a father since before this planet was out of the ice age." Hound replied.

Lennox laughed in response, shaking his head and looking up at him. "You'll be fine."

A moment later, Dana Walsh stepped into the hangar with her arm around Mark. Hound's spark nearly leapt out of his chest in happiness at the sight of seeing the young human again for the first time since he was released from the hospital. He carried a black duffle bag that seemed to contain his wordily possessions, and seemed to be much better groomed, including having had a much-needed hair cut since he last saw him. "Hound!" He shouted happily "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"You're looking well yerself." Hound crouched down as Mark broke from Dana and made his way over "Primus, it's good to see you." He noted, running his hand along his hair "So, are there more forms for me to sign before I get Mark acquainted with his new home?" He questioned, eyeing Dana calmly.

"Yeah, you'll have to sign a few forms, and I'll need to see his living arrangements one more time before I leave." Dana nodded "If you'll bring your holoform, and show me to the nearest desk and pen, we can get the paperwork part of this settled."

As Hound did as requested, Mark turned to face the man that stood beside Hound. He was greeted by a warm smile from Lennox and an outstretched hand. "It's nice to finally get to meet you, Mark. I'm Colonel Lennox, and I run NEST Operations here." He explained "But you can call me Will, there's no real need for you to call me anything else if you're going to be living here."

Mark tentatively outstretched his hand and shook his. "It's nice to meet you too." Mark shifted nervously "Thanks, y'know for doing this. I know a base like this isn't exactly meant for kids like me." He rubbed the back of his neck lightly "I hope I'm not causing too big a ruckus."

"Hey, you need the 'Bots protection, and we have the room." Will explained, patting Mark's arm "As long as you let us do our jobs, and let the Autobots do theirs too, we won't have any problems. You're old enough that I kinda figure you can do that much." Mark gave a small half-smile in response "There are some serious rules if you're going to be living here, especially on the 'Bots side so I'm gonna need you both to follow me. And you to pay attention."

"They have their own side of the base?"

"The perks of a new HQ." Will replied "Wait until you see it."

As Will started off, Mark looked over at Hound with a sheepish grin. Hound smiled a bit, and picked his young foster son up off the ground. "It feels good to have my little buddy back where he belongs." He stated calmly, setting him on his shoulder "Don't worry, bud. You're gonna fit right in."

Mark hoped he was right.

...

The new NEST base of operations was huge. With two sides to it, one for the Autobots (and now, for Mark too) and one side for the humans armed forces. Lennox explained that he was allowed most everywhere on the human side without asking permission, other than the command center, and any rooms now marked "PRIVATE". So long as he agreed to keep what he saw and heard to himself, there was not much else that would be Earth-shattering if he saw, after all, he already knew the robots. The Autobots side was mostly regarded as the same, with Hound pointing out that if he ever needed to get into his office, that was never off limits.

Both sides were filled with different technology, human and Autobot-made alike. And both were almost entirely made of metal, reinforced to protect them from most anything, or so he guessed. But the Autobots side was especially awe-inspiring in that it had the brunt of the Cybertronian technology. The floor was decorated with an Autobot shield and the words: "NEST OPERATIONS" and the main room itself was circular. Lastly, after Dana had left, Will broke off from the two of them, and Hound led Mark to his bedroom.

One of the cooler features he noticed was that the large Transformer-sized door opened simply by thumb recognition on a pad. (Hound noted it was made to read his and the other Autobot's signatures, as well as Mark's fingerprint, and Will's for good measure) On the inside, the room was large, with a big, soft queen-sized bed covered with sheets and blankets that seemed to be Autobot colors. The colors of the bedroom matched one of the colors, being a deep blue. There was a TV near the bed, a desk in one corner with a laptop on top, a bookcase, and a built in closet for storage of his clothes. Finally, there was a large Autobot shield on the floor. "Wow, this is all for me?" Mark asked quietly, looking around "You guys didn't have to go all out for me like this. You know that, right?"

"This is your home now." Hound replied as he leaned against the wall "We wanted you to feel at home and safe here." He then added "After all, we all know growing up on a military base won't be very easy as it is."

"So this isn't a temporary thing until Cyclonus is caught?" Mark asked.

"After all of _that _work?" Hound snorted "Youngling, they'll have to pry you out of my hands before you leave here." Mark let a smirk spread across his face "Don't be silly about this stuff, of course yer here to stay." He noted "I thought we agreed that we were going to try and fill each other's voids." Mark nodded his head "You seem nervous..."

"A little." Mark admitted as he sat on the edge of the bed "That and trying to take it all in. When you told me you were going to take me in... I couldn't believe it at first. But then Dana would tell me about your talks and..." He paused again, putting his hands on the bed "Now I'm actually here, and I don't know... I'm kinda excited and scared at the same time."

Hound was thankful that he wasn't the only one feeling that combination of emotions at all of this. He stepped forward, and nodded, crouching low enough to look Mark in the eyes. "I feel the same way if it makes you feel any better. I still have a hard time comprehending that I'm a father again..." He explained, looking down "But I think we will fall into the roles pretty easily. I already took pretty good care of you a few months ago."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So, speaking of taking good care of you..." Hound raised an optic ridge.

"Oh, the Martins? They were fine, really nice people..." Mark replied with a shrug "Matt was a pretty cool guy, and Jane was an awesome cook. But they were hella strict, so I'm kinda glad to be out of there too." A second shrug followed "What can I say really, they didn't beat me or lock me in the closet. So you don't have to get your guns out or anything if you're asking."

"I'd have a rocket launcher ready if they had." Hound replied bluntly.

Mark laughed a little, though by the look on his face, Hound wasn't joking in the least. Mark almost smirked at the fact that Hound had a similar "I'd murder someone" look that his own dad had about stuff like this, _almost_. He pushed the thoughts of his dad away for a moment as Hound started for the door. "Anyway, I'll let you unpack your things." He told him "I have some work to finish." He then added "We put you right near both my office and quarters. My quarters are the door right to the left of yours. And my office is a few doors down from that, you'll see a sign." He noted "And-."

"Hound?" Mark interrupted, as the mech stopped "I'll be fine, don't worry. The only person off-base now that Sideswipe is back from protecting the Martins and I is Bee, right? Since he stayed with the Yaegers?" The mech nodded "If I get lost, I'll just ask one of the others. You should get to work."

"Right." Hound rubbed the back of his neck "Sometimes I forget how self-reliant you are." He stood there for a long moment "Well then, like I said, if you need me, I'm only right down the hallway."

Mark nodded as Hound started for the door. It was a long moment before Mark chewed his lip, and then looked up. "Hey, Hound." The mech stopped, and looked back at him "Thanks... Y'know, for not giving up on me. For doing this..." He looked down at the ground "I'm really... Glad you kept me around after all." He explained.

Hound smiled at that, his optics softening. "I am too, Mark." He replied "Be sure to at least find one of us when you're hungry. We'll take you to the mess hall."

And with that, Hound was out the door, leaving Mark alone in his new bedroom. He opened up his bag of things carefully, and began to remove them one-by-one until he finally came across the one he'd almost forgotten he had. A picture of himself, and his father, from a fishing trip that they had taken a few years earlier. Silently tracing the frame of the picture with his fingers, he thought about what he would do with it carefully. Finally deciding, he carefully opened the top drawer of his nightstand, and placed it inside before closing it.

He still wasn't sure if he was ready to forgive his father. Especially not now that the Autobots had gone as far as to give him a new place to call home. But until he figured it out, it needed to be in the back of his mind, it all had to be in the back of his mind. After all he'd gone through, he deserved time to settle into this new life while putting his old one behind him for now. And that much, he knew he could at least try and do.


	11. Nerves and Annoyances

**CHAPTER 11  
Nerves and Annoyances **

The first day that Mark woke up, he almost had to do a double take. For a moment, he nearly forgot where he was, but realization soon settled in. He sighed quietly, and snuggled deep into his soft mattress. It had worked, it had actually _worked_, and now he was living with the Autobots. On one hand, it felt strange, but on another, he loved the feeling. After he had buried his head into his pillow again, he heard the door slide open, and soon found a finger caressing his back gently. "Mark, time to get up, youngling." Hound told him quietly as Mark shifted, and pushed himself into a seated position "I'd let you sleep a little later, but if ye sleep any longer yer liable to completely sleep through breakfast." He noted.

"What time is it?" Mark murmured.

"Ten o'clock." Hound replied, his optics baring down on him "How'd ye recharge? Yer bed comfortable enough?"

"Perfect." Mark replied, climbing from the bed "I don't think I've ever actually slept in a bed that comfortable since..." He paused just short of talking about his old life "So, breakfast, I guess it's in the mess hall again, right?" He asked, as Hound inclined his head "I should get going then."

Hound stepped aside, and turned around, allowing Mark to dress quickly and privately. "You should hop in the shower." Hound reminded him.

Mark gave Hound a look, rolling his eyes. It was clear that Mark hadn't expected him to take to his fatherly role so quickly. But Hound intended to do completely right by Mark, and that meant keeping an eye out for things like this. "I'll go and shower after breakfast, Hound. But I'm not going out into a base in my pajamas." He replied honestly "I promise."

"Alright, I guess you have a point." Hound replied "I've yet to get my morning energon either since I've waited for you." Mark smiled slightly at that "And I'm hungry."

Mark followed Hound out to the mess hall quietly. As they walked, he couldn't help but notice the warm look in Hound's optics, and the smile on his face that signified how happy he was. And Mark had to admit, he was happy as well, very happy. Being around Hound made him feel warm and welcomed, something that made him happier than he could imagine. "Hound?" Hound looked down as Mark spoke up again "How are we going to call each other to other people, just so I know what to say?"

"Well, I figured it would be easiest to call you my ward. Since I doubt you're ready to be called my "son" yet." Mark nodded, it would be a little bit before he was ready for that, as much as he wished that weren't the case "Whatever you want to call me is really up to you. "Foster Father", "Caretaker"..." He suggested.

"Foster father works." Mark replied with a sigh "Caretaker just sounds kinda... Awkward."

Hound knew that this was all the nerves in Mark talking. And they were nerves that he would probably have for the next few weeks. He needed to get used to having Hound as a foster father, and Hound likewise had to get used to having him as a foster son. As they stopped in front of the doors to the mess hall, he smiled warmly. "Just relax, youngling." Hound chuckled "Everyone here knows about this, it'll be a long while before you even have to worry about that." He paused a long moment "So why don't we come inside and get something to eat." He motioned to the doors "We can't wait much longer after all."

"Alright, you're right." Mark threw up his hands in defeat "I need to calm down."

As they entered the mess hall, Mark took as much food as he could. Grabbing some scrambled eggs, bacon, and several pieces of toast which he licked his lips hungrily at as he took a seat and Hound brought up another, Autobot-sized one beside him, holding his own morning energon. "I hear the breakfast here is actually quite good." Hound noted as Mark began to dig in, giving a thumbs up of approval "You seemed to like the supper last night too, so I see that won't be a problem."

"Hey, Hound." Mark's head shot up as an African American man approached "Is this the kid?"

"That would be him, Robert." He nodded at the man "Mark, I'd like to properly introduce you to one of my closest friends." He explained, motioning forward "This is Robert Epps, former Air Force, now one of our chief liaisons to the government." Mark took the man's outstretched hand "Or at least, he has been for the last three months or so that we've been operational again."

"It's good to finally meet you, kid." Epps told him with a wide smile "Hound's told me a lot of good things."

"Nice to meet you too." Mark replied as Epps took a seat in front of him "So..." He began awkwardly "A liaison to the government, huh? That must be pretty cool..." He told him calmly.

"You're right, he is shy." Epps smirked at Hound.

"I am not!" Mark replied "Just around new people... Or people I don't know."

"Don't worry, give it about a month, we'll break you out of that." Hound snorted at Epps's wise comment, and crossed his arms with a nod "In the meantime, you got anything to do while the big guy here goes to work?" He questioned, Mark shook his head in response "Good, because I could use your help today, if you don't mind."

"Robert..." Hound warned.

"It's nothing serious, Hound."

"What do you mean you could use my help?"

Epps was silent for a moment, he crossed his arms and locked eyes with Mark. "Look, things since Hong Kong? Aren't as fine as we want the general public to think." He then added "Your dad and Attinger were big government assets, and one was killed by a civilian. And the other by... Well, the boss bot himself." He then added "Not everyone is as willing to trust the Autobots as much as they used to be still."

Mark raised his eyebrow. "How can I help with that?"

"Sit in on a meeting, and talk about your time with the 'Bots before you came to NEST." Mark was silent at that "I think that your relationship with Hound could help ease at least _some_ tension here." Mark bit his lip "I know, I'm sorry to throw this on you your first day. But I didn't know you were coming around this time, and when I heard-."

"Robert, maybe another meeting." Hound held up a hand "Mark needs time to settle in..."

"I'll go."

Hound looked at Mark with an expression of disbelief, though the boy caught his look with a smirk. "Look, we need the government to trust you guys, Hound." Mark replied "I just got here, I don't want to get kicked out within a month of showing up." Hound frowned a bit, knowing Mark made a point "Count me in."

Mark hoped inwardly that this would go okay.

...

Mark felt like a fish out of water in the large conference room filled with people he didn't know. Most of them were officials, but some at the long table inside NEST's meeting room were merely representatives. He stuck close to Epps, and was quiet, sometimes fidgeting with the tie he hadn't worn since his father's funeral, with today being the exception. Finally, one of the men on the far right cleared his throat. "Now that we have handled most of our business, might I ask who the young man is?" Mark's head shot up in surprise "Are they hiring right out of high school these days?"

Mark's eyes retreated to Epps, who gave a wink before turning to the rest. "Gentlemen, this is Mark Savoy..." He introduced "And I brought him here because I realize that for some people... This whole re-alliance with the Autobots isn't sitting well." He then added "Between Chicago and Hong Kong..."

"How is this boy going to change our minds?" One asked, crossing his arms "Is he another Witwicky kid?"

Mark frowned, he'd heard that name before, during the broadcast of what happened in Chicago. He knew very little of him other than what he'd heard the Autobots talk about, which mostly was that he lived somewhere in New York and had once been Bumblebee's partner. "Sorta..." Mark replied sheepishly "But... It's a little more complicated."

"Mark currently lives under the care of the Autobots." Many of the dignitaries straightened at Epps's statement "He only just got in last night, but... The story goes back further than that, right Mark?" Mark nodded quietly "I'm sure you all guessed by his last name, but he's the son of the head of Cemetery Wind, James Savoy... Someone who dedicated his life to searching out and destroying the Autobots."

"What's he doing here then?"

Mark shifted in his seat slightly, clutching his pant legs. "I was on the run, and Hound... Kinda found me here in Texas when I was in-between cities." Mark explained, looking between them "He uh... Took care of me for a while, and I spent some time with the Autobots before things kinda went to hell..." He explained, leaving out details on that last part "Which is kinda why I'm here now-."

"And this is supposed to tell us what?" A man questioned cooly.

"That the 'Bots aren't going to hold what Harold Attinger did against us. So we shouldn't hold what they did to him in Hong Kong against them." Epps spoke for Mark, his eyes locking with the official that had spoken "I think that we should reinstate more NEST bases around the globe and fully re-integrate the Autobots into our society." he began.

"Yeah, seriously." Mark brought up "What's stopping you guys? They saved all of our asses in Hong Kong and they're the most gentle giants _I've _met." He paused a moment "Well, except Crosshairs, he's kind of a crab, but the point is-."

"You want to do all of this..." Another official spoke "On the words of a ten year old-."

"Fourteen." Mark replied.

"Fourteen year old boy?" The man replied "They could have brainwashed him for all we know. Until the Autobots fully prove they won't turn against us, we can't risk re-opening more NEST bases of operation." He then added "They're lucky we are allowing this base to be re-opened." He then added "And what's more is we don't have that many Autobots to begin with..."

"More are coming though..." Mark explained "They were talking last night..." He then gritted his teeth a bit "And don't call me brainwashed like that. Hound cares about me, they all do." He crossed his arms "Just because you don't like them doesn't mean you can turn them into _monsters_." He added cooly.

"You're biased."

"And you're a dick." Mark shot back.

"Alright, that's enough." Epps countered, putting a hand on his shoulder "Mark, you can go now."

Mark's eyes narrowed at the man in front of him, definitely not happy. But Epps's eyes said it all, if Mark was kept in the room, this argument would only escalate. "Yeah, run along, Mark." The man spoke as Mark stood to his feet and started for the door calmly "Let the big boys talk."

"Mr..." Mark turned his head to eye the man.

"Coulton. David Coulton."

"Mr. Coulton, if you just spend some time with them, you'd see what I mean." Mark replied "You're wrong about them. Their trust might be a little wavered because of the crap _our _government did to _them_." He added coldly "But they aren't like that."

And with that Mark was out the door, closing it loudly behind him. David looked at Epps with a roll of his eyes. "You're grasping at straws with that one." He told him calmly "Next time, try to find a more charming liaison." He joked.

Mark resisted the urge to flip the man off as he heard that through the glass door. But simply settled for storming his way back to the Autobots side of the base, he definitely needed to cool off now.


	12. Secrets and Stories

Guest: Ratchet will be brought up, yes. I just haven't gotten a good place for him to logically be brought up. And as for Sideswipe and Mirage, I'm going by the idea that not all of the Autobots are actually dead and some simply were able to hide. As for Brains, just have not found a place for the little guy to show up yet. But I'll try to get him in there before the story is over.

...

**CHAPTER 12  
Secrets and Stories**

"He was a jerk!"

"From what you told me I'm not going to argue."

Mark seated himself down in the human sized chair in Hound's office. He was annoyed, severely annoyed in fact, at both Coulton and the rest of the panel that didn't seem to listen to him. "I mean he actually tried to imply that you didn't care about me at all and I was brainwashed or something!" Mark added in frustration "I really wanted to punch in the face, and I would have if I knew I wouldn't be sent to juvie."

"Well that couldn't be further from the truth." Hound reassured him "Seeing as you're single-handedly the most important thing in my life at the moment." Mark smiled a little at that "So you don't need to listen to him at all, he's simply a cold, cruel man. One that should no longer be serving on the NEST board." He grunted "You're so far from brainwashed for that matter."

"I know." Mark replied with a sigh "It just hurt that someone said that to me is all."

"If I had been there, he'd have gotten more than a bad word thrown at him."

Mark didn't doubt that much, knowing Hound's protective nature of him. It was clear that the mech had a very protective nature when he came to most people he cared about, but with him there was something deep. He guessed it was because of his age, though he had never outright asked. "It's okay, Hound, I can defend myself." He replied "I didn't put up with his crap."

"That's m'boy." Hound chuckled "If ye hand't, I'd have been disappointed with you."

"You're encouraging letting an authority figure have it?"

"No." Hound looked thoughtful "Yes." He then added "Honestly, I'm a little torn when it comes to that situation."

Mark only snorted a bit as the door to Hound's office slid open. Mark almost didn't want to meet the stare of Crosshairs, unsure of how he was taking the news of him being there. "Well, well, well..." Crosshairs began as he looked over at the young human "Good to see you again, Mark." Mark arched his eyebrows "Don't look so surprised. You're going to be living with us for a long time now, I _have _to try and get along with you."

Mark rolled his eyes, and leaned back. "I really missed that optimism of yours, Crosshairs." Mark replied "You really should think of raising a kid yourself." He added sarcastically.

"I thought about it, but then you came around. And I realized just how much better I have it this way."

Mark actually had to laugh at the mech's obvious joke. And for once, he did notice the playful smile that seemed to tug at the mech's lips. Perhaps Crosshairs was serious about getting along with him now, after all, he and Hound seemed to be friends. "Was there something you needed besides mocking my ward?" Hound jested at Crosshairs "I'm busy, y'know."

"Oh, I could hear from out there." Crosshairs snorted "I'm sorry to interrupt your wonderful trash talk." Hound rolled his optics at that "But Lennox wants you to look at these plans for the raid on that possible Decepticon outpost in Africa." He explained, putting a data pad on his large desk "If you're still leading the strike team for that raid."

"Indeed I am." Hound noted, taking the data pad "That it?"

"Mmmmhmmm." Crosshairs replied "Oh wait, no. We also have a problem with the Dinobots." Hound raised an optic ridge "That's what we've dubbed the "Legenndary Warriors" Optimus released." He explained "We got them to come back to NEST with us finally, but they aren't exactly... Enjoying the accommodations." Hound rolled his optics absently at that.

"What's a Dinobot?" Mark asked.

"Nothing I want you around until I know how dangerous they are." Hound replied "Sometimes I wish Prime wasn't dealing with the "Creators". Primus help me, being temporary leader is _not _all it's cracked up to be." He explained.

"Who even named you that?"

"Well Bumblebee sure isn't in the right mindset. And I rank above you." Mark stared over at Crosshairs, who seemed to grumble at that "Now, where are the Dinobots? I need to talk to them obviously."

"Don't expect to get through to them. They're leader, Grimlock, is kind of..."

"Rude?"

"A moron."

As Hound stood, Mark started off towards him, but Crosshairs quickly blocked his path. The boy crossed his arms at this, not amused in the least. Whoever these "Dinobots" were, he definitely deserved a chance to see them as far as he was concerned. "No dice, small fry." Crosshairs told him "I agree with the big guy, they've already nearly hurt three of us, we don't need children around them too."

Mark rolled his eyes, and simply made his way back to the seat. "I hope you know I'm going to run out the second you leave."

"I figured. Lucky for me, I know the code to lock the door outside." Crosshairs snorted "Stay put until we've handled this, will you?"

As Crosshairs left, Mark heard the door lock. He tensed up and cursed under his breath quietly as he stood. Of course, the door didn't open for him, though he still felt compelled to kick it for good measure. "Some first day this has been." Mark grunted "This sucks."

He hoped he wouldn't miss all the fun.

...

By the time they let him out, the newly dubbed "Dinobots" were subdued. Despite the fact that Mark wanted to meet these strange Autobots, Hound insisted that he give them at least a few days there before approaching them. Mark hadn't seen them transform yet, but from what Hound said, it was at least part of the reason that they didn't want him near them yet. And by the form of their biggest, the leader, Grimlock, as far as he was told, it was pretty obvious why between the mace and the fact his head almost hit the ceiling.

Though he did his best to keep his distance, he would often keep an eye on them. As if expecting that at any moment, they'd transform and he'd get to see whatever the hubbub was about for himself. Eventually though, the Dinobots retreated to their quarters without so much as acknowledging anyone other than Hound. "They don't look _that _scary." Mark told Hound later that night.

"You didn't see them in action during Hong Kong." Hound noted.

By this time, they had situated themselves on the roof of the base. Hound was finally off of work for the night, and had decided to take Mark up to the roof for star-gazing, something he often did with his son when he had been growing up. Mark was balanced carefully on his knee, with his hand carefully resting at the boy's side. "Wait, they were in Hong Kong?" Mark asked "Which ones were they?"

"They weren't in any of the aftermath footage." Hound told him.

Mark nodded his head, figuring that was the only answer he'd get from him. He shifted a bit on his guardian's knee and stared around at the stars in awe. From their perch on the roof of the base, the expanse of space seemed long and beautiful. "They're so pretty." Mark commented "Where's Cybertron, or can we not see it from here?"

Hound shook his head. "It was destroyed during Chicago, I fear." Hound commented "It used to be somewhere around a galaxy some miles to the right of the Big Dipper... But now it no longer shines." His voice seemed to quiet, as if his spark were breaking for his lost home "This is the only home I know now..." He admitted.

Mark frowned, and patted the large green mech's leg. He knew what it was like to lose his home, though it was not on the scale of a planet, thankfully. But he still knew how hard it felt to be ripped from the only home you had known - forever. "I'm sorry, big guy." Mark told him calmly "That has to be hard... I can't imagine losing Earth..."

Hound shook his head, stroking Mark's back gently with his thumb. Though his optics seemed to look absently at the sky, he let out a long, labored sigh. "It had been lost long before that in a lot of ways." He admitted "We tore it apart with our war and left nothing but destruction and ruin." He explained "I can't say I don't miss it, but I definitely can say I don't miss what it became."

Mark nodded his head, he understood that. He wasn't sure he could miss a planet like that either. "I guess Earth wouldn't be your first choice either." Mark laughed "We blow each other up and kill each other all the time." He concluded "Hell, even to others too. Look what we did to YOU guys." He explained, shaking his head "I'm surprised it hasn't happened to us yet."

"You're not all bad." Hound noted as he leaned back "You're not a perfect race, but neither are we." He explained "And Earth has yielded rewards still. Our friendship with the Witwicky's, the Yeager's." He then added "And of course, my personal plus, meeting you." Hound poked Mark's stomach gently, avoiding his likely still sore ribs "So it's had its pluses as well."

"Kiss-up." Mark joked.

"Nah, I just happen to be fond of ye."

Mark smirked and hugged one of Hound's fingers gently. The mech smiled as the boy let go, and continued to stare out at the stars. "So, how many of those stars have you traveled to?" Hound raised his optic ridges "Oh come on, you can't tell me you've only ever been to Cybertron and Earth." He explained "There had to be other stops along the way here."

Hound laughed. "Of course." Hound teased "I've seen about four or five thousand stars up there. Ones that are considered planets, that is." Mark's eyes widened "Mostly seen from within the confines of our ship, though. I've only actually been on five or six of them." He explained thoughtfully "We even made a pit stop on Mars before we came here."

"Did you see any Martians?" Mark joked.

"What's a Martian?"

Mark only laughed a little bit at that, the mech had a lot to learn. "Aliens." Mark replied "I thought maybe if you guys existed, they did too." Hound chuckled a little as the boy leaned back and yawned "What were the other planets you visited like?" He looked up curiously.

"Oh Primus, where do I begin?" Hound began "Perhaps with the Junk Planet... I think you'd find that one amusing. Especially the peculiar fellow I met by the name of Wreck Gar."

And so Hound began, with his many stories of what adventures that he, and his crew mates had encountered. Mark grinned at the stories that ranged from Wreck Gar, who talked through the television. To the desolate planet of Chaar, which had been a Decepticon outpost that Hound and the others had had to fight their way out of. For Mark, it was like listening to an amazing movie. "So, ye see, it was just me, and about five guns left against eight Decepticon enforcers."

"How did you get yourself out of that one?" Mark asked in surprise.

"That's why I carry my trusty grenades." Hound told him, amused "I threw one into an Enforcer's mouth. He didn't have enough time before his head blew apart, and the rest of them went nuts." Mark's eyes widened "Don't worry kid, they were Vehicons. Drones. They don't have sparks, they're more like machines on your planet." Mark's mouth moved in an "O" shape "I didn't even really need any of my guns after that, I took them out with my bare hands." He clenched his fists for emphasis.

"That's pretty epic." Mark replied "I can't even imagine taking on one Decepticon with my bare hands, let alone eight."

Hound shrugged, and held up a hand. "Well, I am a bit of a badaft. I think we have established this before." Mark chuckled as he laid his head against Hound's thick armor "Alright, that's enough storytelling for one day." Mark groaned a bit as Hound picked him up "I think yer ready for bed if those heavy eyelids say anything."

"Am not."

"You're my foster son now." Hound replied "You have to listen to me."

If Hound were human, he might have flicked him for that jab at his previous comment in the barn. But before he could argue more, he was barely aware of being set into his bed, with his coverings being pulled over him. "Hound?" Hound stared down at him calmly "You're going to let me see those Dinobots and what they are at some point, right?"

"Yer still on that? After all those stories?" Hound snorted "Eventually... Just don't blame me if they scare the slag out of you. They have that effect on people."

"I'm a tough guy."

"Very true." Hound chuckled, rubbing his back "Goodnight, Mark." He then added "Sweet "dreams", as I hear you humans have."

"Goodnight, Hound."

Mark smiled and snuggled deep into his bed for the soundest sleep he had had for a while. That night, his dreams would not be filled with fears, but rather with Dinobots, Junkions, and Hound's amazing adventures on other planets. As adventurous as dreams should have been, but hadn't been for quite some time.

...

A/N: We'll be formally "meeting" Grimlock at least next chapter. Just wanted to tease that first. ;)


	13. Fascination and Bonds

**CHAPTER 13  
Fascination and Bonds**

"Holy CRAP!"

That was the first thing that came out of Mark's mouth as he stepped out into the main room one morning several weeks later. It wasn't every day that one stepped out to see five, gigantic robotic dinosaurs, to say the least. But Mark could now definitely see why the Autobots and their allies had named these "legendary warriors" as "Dinobots" now. The gigantic T-Rex breathed fire into the air as a couple of Autobots tried to hold him off, but Mark none-the-less showed no fear and approached it quickly.

Almost at once, Hound was stepping in front of Mark. "Stay back, Mark. They're having a bit of a temper tantrum." Hound commented "If you come any closer, you may end up barbecued." Mark none-the-less tried to get around his guardian "Markus Franklin Savoy, listen to me!"

"Is Sideswipe trying to climb him?" Mark asked "Oh man, I bet riding one of them would be awesome! Can I get a ride, Hound? I want to ride one too!"

As Mark finally managed to get around him, Hound yanked the boy up by his waist and pulled him back. Mark noticed it was just in time as the out-of-control T-Rex had shot a straight line of fire at the floor where he'd been moments later. Sideswipe didn't fare much better as he was thrown violently from Grimlock's back. "That is s_o _sick!" Mark shouted.

Hound rolled his optics, clearly not amused by Mark acting the way he was. For the first time since Mark had come to live with him, his optics looked down at his foster son with a stern look in them. "You see what I mean, now?" Hound asked "You may be the foster son of an Autobot, Mark. But you gotta remember you aren't one. So when I say something is dangerous, I mean it." He explained.

"When did you get so strict?" Mark asked.

"I'm not strict. But I'm not about to let any son of mine anywhere near an angry, one-hundred foot fire breathing t-rex." Hound looked at him with a raised optic ridge "I like to think of myself as a good parent, not a stupid one." He added "Lest your social worker and the rest of social services be given a reason to take ye away from me." He added bluntly.

Mark knew that Hound had a point, it _was_ probably not only stupid, but dangerous. So as Hound set him back on the ground, Mark stood at his caretaker's side, and didn't move from the spot. "Grimlock!" Hound shouted as loud as he could to get the t-rex's attention "I'd appreciate it if you kept your fire breathing away from the kid. He's under our protection, _all _Autobot's protection."

"Not me Grimlock's fault him human get in me Grimlock's way!"

Mark jumped back at the gravely voice that almost sounded like a growl. If he hadn't seen Grimlock's mouth move, he might not have actually believed that the giant behemoth of a robot had talked. "They talk?" Mark gasped, grinning from ear-to-ear "Talking, giant, robotic dinosaurs." He managed to say "This is even cooler than..."

"Nothing "cooler" than me Grimlock." Grimlock growled "Me Grimlock, coolest!"

"Yeah, they're obviously the best things ever discovered." Hound joked to Mark, then looked at Grimlock and stepped forward cautiously "What seems to be the issue now, Grimlock? You and your team have your own slagging quarters. We've let you join our ranks." Grimlock's long optics narrowed "What in Primus's good name could you want now?"

"Me Grimlock no want to be Au-To-Bot no more." Grimlock fumed slightly "Me Grimlock no like sitting and waiting. Me Grimlock want crush them Decepticons _now_." The way he said that last part made Mark wonder what Grimlock must have been like in battle "No want to wait for useless new Au-To-Bot's to fight." He added with a flick of his tail.

Hound rubbed his foreplate slightly. "And what do your comrades say about this?" Hound grunted.

"Them Dinobots still not speak." Grimlock replied "Them Dinobots still downloading them human language."

"But you can." Mark pointed out "And I bet you can speak theirs too."

Grimlock exhaled a moment, and brought his head down towards Mark. Of course, Hound took a moment to carefully step in front of his charge in a protective gesture, although the t-rex offered him no aggression. "The Dinobots processors were scrambled from years encased in ice. So it takes them a longer time to learn these things." He explained "Grimlock barely was able to download the data himself." He then added "Even he doesn't know why yet."

"Oh." Mark replied, frowning a little "I guess that makes sense."

"Him human, curious one." Grimlock observed "Why you human smaller than other humans?"

"He's still a sparkling." Hound answered for him.

Grimlock stared between the two of them, and then let out what seemed to be a deep chuckle. "Me Grimlock wonder if that make you Hound him human's carrier." Immediately recognizing the Cybertronian word for mother, Mark snorted.

Hound looked as though he could have smacked the Dinobot for that obvious joke. But he just put his hands on his hips, and looked up at the t-rex with narrowed optics. "If you want to go, then go. We obviously don't have a way of keeping you here." Hound replied "I'll send Crosshairs to see you out."

"Mmmm. Me Grimlock no want to leave anymore."

"Why?"

"Me Grimlock annoy you Hound. Me Grimlock think that funny." Grimlock commented "Me Grimlock stay."

Mark grinned a little, and crossed his arms with a nod of approval. "Well, _I_ like him."

"Remind me not to let you two be in the same room often." Hound replied "I have a feeling I'm not going to like that."

Grimlock looked at Mark and snorted, the steam rushing over the human lightly before he lifted his long head again. Grimlock yet again seemed to regard the young human for a while before turning around. "Me Grimlock like human. Him human funny."

Yep, Hound now definitely knew he needed to keep them out of the same room if he could.

...

Later that day, Mark set forth to drawing these new Dinobots out of pure curiosity and amazement. To his surprise, Grimlock didn't even seem to notice, or if he did, didn't care enough to confront him on why he was spending a long time staring at him. "Do you have a crush on him or something?" Mark nearly jumped out of his skin, turning as Crosshairs approached him from behind "You're even doing one of those little drawings of yours of him."

Mark closed up his sketchpad to hide his now finished picture, standing from his seat against the wall of the hangar. "I like girls, Crosshairs. And besides, I just find them... Crazy cool." Mark looked over at Grimlock and the others calmly "I mean, have you seen them? They're so big, strong and scary... Imagine having that kind of power at your disposal, man."

"You have a thing for dinosaurs, don't you?" Crosshairs asked.

After a moment, Mark shrugged and gave a small nod. He had always been a fan of dinosaurs as a kid, mostly thanks to most of the movies made up about them. But none-the-less, the giant behemoths did awe him, and to be in the presence of the Dinobots really did feel like a dream come true. "I just always kinda thought they were cool." Mark admitted "I know, I'm a nerd, laugh it up."

"I actually find you a bit more interesting now that you've started to open up."

Mark glanced up at the green mech, his eyes widening in shock. "Really?"

"I said a _bit_."

Mark still kept the smirk on his face, it was the closest thing to "I like you" he'd gotten from the mech before. And though it wasn't those exact words, he'd take that as, at the very least, a start. "I guess you're not _that _bad either." Mark replied "So, what's up, did you need me for something? Or were you just coming by to give what could barely be considered a compliment?"

Crosshairs snorted a little bit, and looked down at him. "Hardly." Crosshairs put his hands on his hips "I'd actually come to retrieve you..." Mark turned to him, confusion in his own eyes now "We've all had our medical check-ups but you." He added "Every member of the base apparently needs at least one every three months." He noted.

"Why? I'm not a soldier."

"Doesn't matter, you're still a member of the base." Crosshairs noted "And Doctor Filter is waiting for you."

"I'm not seeing some random doctor I don't know."

"C'mon kid." Crosshairs groaned "Hound's busy and I can't call him to convince you."

"Don't you guys have a medic of your own? Why would you..." Mark began in an attempt to stall.

"Don't bring that up." Crosshairs fumed a bit "We lost our last medic to your father and his goons." Mark frowned, and looked down "Until another lands on Earth, we have Dr. Filter who was taught by Ratchet on how to handle our medical needs and read our bio signs." He then added "So he's the best one we got, and like it or not, you're going to him."

Mark shuddered a bit, he hated doctors, he always had since he was a little kid. Normally, he might have made a break for it, but something told him that Crosshairs would catch up to him, ad he wouldn't be amused if he did. "Is there one on their way to Earth?" Mark asked.

"First Aid should be here in two Earth months, why?"

"Just making sure that it won't be a problem for long." Mark replied.

Crosshairs tilted his head, and after a moment, an amused smile spread over his face. "Are you... AFRAID of medics?" Crosshairs finally asked as the boy's face turned red "Are you kidding me right now, youngling? Medics help people! Why would you be afraid of something as gentle as a medic?" Mark looked away "Come on, man up and act your age. I haven't got all day to take you."

"Shut up!" Mark stamped his foot "I'm not scared!"

"Then why won't you come?"

Mark paused a moment and grumbled under his breath. It was clear to Crosshairs that it was not going to be easy to convince Mark that he had to go through the medical examination. He quietly wondered how he could possibly do it, tapping the side of his arm. "I don't suppose that if I promised you a lollipop after this that it would help?" He asked as he looked over human solutions on the internet, and Mark gave him a harsh look at that "Figured as much, it seemed more like something a sparkling would need."

"And I don't look like I'm four, do I?" Mark asked.

Crosshairs may have just grabbed him, and carried him there if he knew Mark's protests wouldn't annoy him. After a long moment, he inhaled carefully, and looked down upon Mark. "Fine then, here's what I propose. If you're really that scared of the doctor I'll go in with you." Mark's eyes widened "It's annoying, but at the very least it will get us both through it quickly. And if he does anything that gives you an _actual _reason to fear him, I'll be there to handle him?" He asked "Will that work?"

"I guess..." Mark replied.

"Good, then let's get this over with."

As he finally made his way towards Crosshairs, the large mech sighed heavily. This boy was definitely going to be the death of him.

...

"My, my. This is most interesting."

Mark shifted uncomfortably on the medical berth as the tall, dark haired man known as Doctor Filter looked him over. The man looked him over, and then turned around, scribbling things down on a notepad. From a corner of the room, Crosshairs raised an optic ridge and frowned. "What's interesting, doc?" He questioned "The kid doesn't actually have anything wrong with him, does he?"

As Filter made his way over, and felt his chest, Mark squirmed again. He definitely didn't enjoy the man touching him, made fairly obvious by the fact he had been fighting him every step of the way, fidgeting and flinching. "No, no. Markus is very healthy and his ribs are continuing to heal nicely." Mark relaxed slightly at that "I just wasn't aware that Hound had started to form a guardian bond with him..." He noted "I can see the tether through my scanners."

"A what?" Mark asked.

It was Crosshairs who answered the question. "A guardian bond is between a caretaker, or adoptive parent, and their surrogate child." He explained "Like what we do when we meet our soul mates, our bonded. Except, in this case, it is when we take a youngling or sparkling as our own." He explained "It gives you both a spiritual and telepathic and empathetic connection, like an invisible tether to each other. It connects their sparks." He explained "Didn't you know that he formed it with you?"

"No..."

"He must have formed it while you were asleep one night then." Crosshairs stroked his chin "Some caretakers decide to do that at first. That way they don't have to bring it up until they've been with their wards a while." He glanced towards Filter, who appeared apologetic "Jeez, I hadn't even been aware we _could _form one with humans."

Mark looked confused, so Hound had tethered his spark to his heart by some strange, alien way? Was he that concerned for him? Could he actually know how he was feeling? And was it true they could contact by thoughts, since he knew that was what telepathy was? "So he can hear my thoughts and stuff? And know how I feel?"

"The first part is only when you allow him to." Crosshairs explained "Or he allows you too. It's a mutual thing with the empathy link as well, though that's only when they allow you in. Or if it's such a strong emotion it breaks the barriers of the bond." He explained "Hound really should be explaining this to you himself." He looked over at him "He'll at least teach you how to use it."

Mark looked over between the two of them, that was definitely going to be a thing. After all, he wanted to know how to work these newfound abilities if he was going to have them. "Right, I'll talk to him about it later." He replied as Filter carefully removed his hand from his chest, and he noticed for the first time he had a device in his hand "What are you checking for anyway?" He asked.

"Simply making sure your bond is growing at a healthy rate." Filter replied "And it seems to be going just fine. Which means you're welcome to leave now." He explained "You're in tip top shape, everything healed properly, so yeah." He then blinked a bit "Crosshairs, have I done your check-up yet? I don't remember seeing you come in?"

Mark gave a smirk, and stared at Crosshairs, who frowned back at him. "Oh, so you didn't do it either. But you gave _me _the hard time?"

"Mute it." Crosshairs replied "I was nice enough to come in with you." He stated "And plus I thought I might be able to get out of it myself."

"Are you scared too? Do I need to stay?"

"I will fragging punt you out of this med bay."

Mark laughed as he started towards the door to the med bay with a grin shot towards Crosshairs. After a moment however, he let it turn into a sincere smile. "Thanks Crosshairs, I did feel better." He admitted "Good luck with yours." He gave a thumbs up.

Though Crosshairs didn't respond, Mark noticed as he looked back with a smile. Though it was quickly replaced with a sigh, and a large frown as he started back towards the medical berth. He knew that the mech wasn't scared, but he also knew that he didn't like check-ups either, so he did wish him a good check-up. But slowly, his thoughts trailed back to Hound, and the bond. What would this mean for the two of them, he wondered? What would a relationship with this deep a connection entail?

It was time to see Hound, and find out.


	14. Guardians and Snakes

**CHAPTER 14  
Guardians and Snakes**

"So, a guardian bond, huh?"

Hound glanced down at the words that came from Mark's mouth as he entered his office. The mech stared at him for a long moment before taking out a "cigar", he might need it by the time he was done with the day. "Who told you?" Hound asked with much irritation in his voice "I figured you wouldn't be ready to know. I kept quiet for a _reason_." He muttered.

"I'm not mad or anything." Mark replied "I just... I'm surprised." He paused "Why would you do that?"

Hound sighed, his engines revving quietly. "The same reason my foster sire did that for me when I was a sparkling." Mark raised his eyebrows "Don't look so surprised, Mark. There were many orphans on Cybertron. Especially once the war escalated, but still some before there even was a war." He explained "I formed that bond to protect you, Mark. It makes me connected to you and fortifies my protection of you." Mark tilted his head in confusion "It puts my protective programming into the same state it would be in around my own metal and energon."

"You can do that?" Mark asked "Does that mean-?"

"I cared about you like you were my own long before." Hound chuckled "What I mean is that I can feel and sense you like I could any other child of mine." Mark gave an "OH" at that "We can't change how we feel about a person, Mark. No more than a human can." The boy nodded slowly in response "I just... Now that you're living with us, I worried about the whole Decepticon factor. So I wanted to know when you were in danger, and other things..."

Mark smiled, he had to admit, that was a very sweet thing. The fact that Hound wanted to be able to connect on him on that level definitely served to make him feel good. "Well, that's cool. Crosshairs said I can feel you like that too." Hound nodded in confirmation "So basically you'll know my emotions now?" He asked, curiously.

"And be able to communicate with you by simple thought." Hound put a fingertip to his helm "Believe you me, youngling, you'll be thankful for it. Since you'll now never have to feel alone even if it seems as though you are." Mark smiled a bit "I only didn't want to tell you because I thought it might... Be strange to you." He explained.

"A little, but it sounds awesome." Mark explained "So this is pretty normal for you guys, though?"

"Very. Nearly every guardian forms this bond with their charge." Hound explained "A lot of sparklings can't survive with a bond like that. Much like you can't survive without some form of attention in infancy." Mark nodded in understanding as the mech sighed "And for older younglings, it's supposed to help you feel safe and protected..." He purposely left out "loved" for now "So, are we okay? You don't think that it's strange, do you? Because I apologize, but I can't-."

"I'm honored." Mark replied, stopping Hound from going further "I mean, you did it to protect me, Hound. And it means a lot that you care about me like that." He looked down, then back up at him with a smile "I know you already told me you care before, but this really makes it hit home." Hound nodded in understanding "So you were an orphan too?" He asked.

Hound nodded his optics seeming to look off in the distance as he thought back upon his early years. When he had been an orphan without a home, or family. He had been lucky, much like Mark had been. He'd been found by a mech called Falco and raised into mechhood, though he often remembered fighting him, including when he himself had run away as a youth. "The mech who raised me made me the mech I myself am today." He patted his chestplate slightly "Took me in when I was even younger than you are." He shook his head "He was a heavy high grade drinker though, and he died young."

Mark nodded his head, finding it interesting. Although it did tell him a lot about why Hound did what he did for someone he barely knew, after all, on top of the loss pf his son, he also knew what Mark felt like. "That sucks." Mark replied "But he raised a pretty awesome mech if you ask me... So I think that's what matters." Hound chuckled, and nodded his head at his charge "And this bond helped you, kinda?"

"It helped remind me, even in the darkest parts of my sparklinghood..." Hound began "That there was always someone out there that cared about me. And that I always had a home to come back to where I felt special." It was a deep thought, but one that Mark knew must have meant a lot "As well as other emotions, which come with time. Which we have plenty of." He noted.

Mark knew that Hound meant "love", and even though he didn't say it, he could see some of that in Hound's optics. He wondered if Hound had already come to that point yet, though he doubted it highly. Love was a strong emotion that took time, as Hound had said. It was the same thing as the word "dad", someone didn't just fall into that in the first few months, it took longer.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Mark replied "So are you going to teach me how it works? I think I should at least know if I'm going to have one running through my... Heart, I guess." He patted his chest.

Hound nodded his head, putting in his "cigar" before standing up and stepping forward. "Sounds good, younglin'. I needed a distraction from this blasted report anyway." Mark grinned a little "Let's get this bond working in full, shall we?"

As Hound led him out, Mark couldn't help but smile up at him.

...

"So, their brainwashing still working?"

Mark had to use every ounce of his self-control not to haul off and punch David Coulton in the face. He turned around to see the man as he started forward, stepping up beside him in the Autobot hangar as he watched Hound give a training crash-course to several rookies. It was early the next day, and after he had become even closer to Hound, the last thing he wanted was for the man to try to put a wrench into it. "Is it SO hard to believe that they care about me?" Mark asked, crossing his arms "Hound went through the entire, long as hell legal process, just to get custody of me, you do know that, right?"

"An obvious front."

Mark chewed his lip, not wanting to let the idea of the bond slip. He knew this man would twist it into something awful, and that was the last thing he wanted. Hound had done such a good job with him so far, if this man decided to ruin it, well... He wouldn't be too happy. "Look, what are you even doing here?" Mark asked cooly "If you hate the Autobots so much, why don't you just leave them alone? They never did anything to you."

Coulton's eyes narrowed at Mark as he approached the boy. Mark had to admit, the man was intimidating, and he didn't like it one bit. "I lost my wife in Chicago because of those frickin' machines." The man told him with a dark edge to his voice "Frankly, I come around to make sure they aren't killing more and more of our people. Something that a _human _like you should understand." He told the boy cooly.

"I lost my dad AND my aunt." Mark snapped "Don't talk to me like I don't get what you're going through."

The man shook his head, and shoved Mark just lightly enough to not hurt him. Yet it was still at that moment that Hound's head snapped in their direction for the first time, his optics narrowing. "And yet, you just support them like a good little brat." Mark clenched his fists yet again "They're murderers, every last one of them, and if they don't do the killing... Well they sure aren't stopping it." He then added "Your father may have been a nutjob, going around killing humans too, but he got that much right."

"Don't talk about my dad." Mark hissed.

"Why? Don't tell me you actually care about humans. I thought you were one of them." Coulton replied with a cold smile "I bet your daddy's frowning down in hell about it. Knowing his boy's a traitor to his own-."

At that point, Mark lunged, grabbing his collar violently. He could hear Hound approaching from behind, though he didn't care at this point. "Shut up! He's not in hell, and the Autobots aren't murderers!" He could feel hands grip his arms and pull him back "You're just a bitter old jerk like Attinger was. And you want to know how he ended up?" The man frowned at that "Exactly. So why don't you-."

"MARK!" He heard Hound shout, and turned to see that his holoform had hold of him "Calm yerself, youngin', he isn't worth it." Mark yanked away, fuming to the point that Hound feared he'd get violent "And you." Hound pointed at Coulton "Yer crossing a real fine line talking to _my _youngling like that." He spoke protectively as his holoform disappeared and his true form stepped forward "I don't appreciate a bully, Mr..."

"Coulton." Coulton told the mech bitterly "And I didn't say anything to him, I was only observing your training session. As one of your liaisons and a government official, I do have the right to do that." He looked over at Mark "Your little brat attacked me completely unprovoked. A little bit of a mental case there, don't you think?" He asked.

"I heard what you said." Hound narrowed his optics "Watch if you wish, but if I hear ye talk to him like that again..." He got up close to Coulton and made it clear that he was not playing around "The president will hear about the way yer treating this youngling. And I'm quite certain that he won't be too pleased given how much he wants our relations to be mended."

Mark watched Coulton, and then watched Hound, who didn't seem to waver. It relived him to see that Hound was on his side in this matter, and that he had been paying attention after all. Coulton's face scrunched, and his eyes moved away from Hound, as if trying to mask terror at the mech's anger. "That's alright. I have all the data on your training session I need." He commented "I think I'll go observe the one that Sideswipe is training now, I don't suppose you know the way to that hangar?" Hound's optics continued to narrow "Right..."

As the two watched the man walk away, Hound exhaled. It was only then that Mark noticed that he had had his hand on a large blaster at his side, as if tempted to shoot the man. He shook his head, and let his body shudder a bit. "Speciest, closed minded, pissant." He spat in Coulton's direction as the muttered words came out of his mouth "He comes near you again, you let me know." He told Mark calmly "He has no business talking to you that way."

"Thanks for backing me up, big guy."

"Every time." Hound nodded his head "Especially when it's a snake like that one." He added "I'm going to finish up this training session. Come with me, will ye? Just in case he decides to come over and cause any more trouble." He added.

Mark nodded absently, following Hound towards where he had been slowly. Though he took a moment to look over his shoulder and make sure that Coulton wasn't still watching. Because, as much as he hated the thought, he couldn't help but feel like the man was going to do everything in his power to break up the father-son relationship that they were fighting so hard to keep. And he couldn't, he _wouldn't _let that happen.

...

A/N: Woo, this one took a while. My computer crashed and I had to get a replacement since I can't get it fixed for a while. But I wanted to get something out today before I got busy because it's my birthday and I probably won't have time to update again until tomorrow. :D Hope you all enjoyed.


	15. Grief and a Confession

A/N: Wow, over 100 reviews already!? Thank you all so much for your amazing feedback! :D And once again would like to thank everyone for the birthday wishes! :D

...

**CHAPTER 15  
Grief and a Confession**

Mark wanted to punch Coulton, yet he knew that the only thing that would land him in was trouble. How dare he say those horrible things about his dad? About Hound? About the other Autobots? He kicked at the ground in frustration as he muttered under his breath. "Don't let that fragger get to you." Mark turned around as Hound approached him in his bedroom "That man is a cold-hearted excuse for a human. And he is most certainly not worth the attention you are giving him." He added, flicking a "cigar" slightly.

Mark looked at his foster father quietly, shaking his head. He laid himself down on his bed and ran his hands along his face in exhaustion. "The way he talked about my dad... I know I said I might hate him... But the thought of him in hell." He shuddered "And the way he talked about you guys is just as bad too. I mean did you hear him? Didn't I tell you what a jerk he was!?"

"Easy, easy Mark."

"What gave him the right!?" Mark continued.

He slowly felt as arms wrapped around him, trying their best to comfort him. Mark had nearly forgotten that Hound could feel extreme distress in him, and given how upset he was now, he wasn't surprised this all applied. Hound looked down at his son, and held him close to his holoform's chest. "It's alright, Mark." Hound tried to comfort him "Yer father isn't in hell, and he can't do _anything _to this relationship." He noted.

"How do you know?" Mark questioned "Social services barely even allowed it, and my dad-."

"I won't let them take you away from me, that's why." Hound began, and then tapped him on the chest "And as for yer father, look in that heart of yours." Hound added, staring into his eyes "He did terrible things, yes. But was it not you who told me that he was a good person underneath the terrible actions? Someone who told ye stories and took ye to the movies?" Mark nodded his head slightly "That doesn't sound like someone who belongs in hell to me."

Mark shook his head. "Even after everything he did to you guys?"

Hound had to admit, when he looked at it that way, he wanted to say he would like to see him burn. He didn't have time to continue before Mark looked to the side. "And he's definitely right about one thing. Wherever he is, he probably hates me. Or at least feels betrayed." Mark shook his head "Even if he is up there and I get to see him again one day..."

"You miss him more than you let on." Hound commented, this time, Mark nodded without hesitation "You know that that's understandable, don't you? I'd be worried about you if you WEREN'T grieving over your loss." Mark looked down "You lost your family sooner than any child should have to. You should be able to go home to parents that love you and make you feel safe." He then noted "And no matter how hard I try I know I won't be able to completely replace that feeling."

Mark shifted a bit, uncertainty in his eyes. "Hound-."

"It's true." Hound replied calmly "I can be your surrogate father, and maybe to you a better man than he was." He explained "But I'll never be the man that raised you, the one that saw you off to your first day at school... The man who fought away your monsters, or read you to sleep." Mark could feel tears sting his eyes "And that's why I can tell that what he said about your father is what bothered you most."

Mark shook his head, and tried to wipe the tears away with the sleeve of his pajamas. Why was Hound able to see through his barrier? Why was he so good at reading him and so smart? He wasn't supposed to be this vulnerable or sad, he was supposed to fight it. "I just miss him... And every time I think about what he did, I just..." He tried to calm himself "I just don't know what to say, Hound... He was my dad, and people look at him like he was a monster. Even I do sometimes." He shook his head "I don't..."

"It's alright, Mark." Hound stated calmly "You're hurting... And the fact he did horrible things does not help."

Mark shook his head, and looked up at Hound. "I just want him to go back to being the dad that I lived with and not this... Jerk everyone talks about." Mark replied "I don't want to hear the terrible things they say about him. Because the more I hear, the more I hate him... The more..." He paused a moment "And then he talks about you the same way, like you're brainwashing me. It just..." He paused "It just sucks."

Hound stared at his foster son for a long moment, gently rubbing his back some more. He knew that this wasn't going to be an easy life for Mark, and now was just one of many moments representing that which were sure to come. But someday, he prayed to Primus that perhaps the boy could come to peace about his father, what people said about the man, and what people said about him. "What they say shouldn't matter. Only what you say does." He put his hands on his holoform's knees "And as for what he says about me, you let me worry about that." He noted "That's not your fight." He paused a moment "Now... I think it's time you got some sleep, maybe it'll help to clear your head."

"Yeah..." Mark whispered as he climbed under the blankets.

Hound carefully moved the blankets over him, and tucked them gently under his chin. For a moment, he sat beside him with a gentle look in his holoform's eyes, and then he stood, and ran a hand along his hair. "Sleep tight, Mark." He told him calmly "Tomorrow will be a better day, I promise."

As he walked out of the room, he could only hope he was right.

...

"He has no right to say such things."

Hound was almost stunned at Crosshairs reaction to the story the next morning. Hound had already dropped Mark off at school, and soon after, his friend met him in the mess hall for a morning energon. But as he now looked at the half-shattered cube that Crosshairs held, he nearly regretted it. "I thought you held contempt over Mark's father yourself?" Hound questioned "Why do you care what he says?"

"Because!" Crosshairs snapped "I like the little bugger, okay? He's grown on me as much as I wish he hadn't... And what that man said to him." He fumed slightly, his engines revving in obvious anger "I never told the boy that his father was in hell. And I slagging well never would." He shook his head "What kind of sparkless fragger thinks it's okay to hurt a child like that?"

Hound shifted a bit, shuddering a bit. He'd hate to be Coulton now if he was ever in the same room as Crosshairs, as he had the feeling the mech might not be as calm as he was. "I'm just as angry as you are. I nearly shot him on the spot." Hound removed his "cigar" from his mouth slightly "After how crushed Mark was last night, I wish I had."

"We really should tell the president."

Hound shook his head slightly, sipping his energon. "If we did that, we wouldn't have much to get him fired by." Hound explained "You and I both know that unless this man tries anything truly despicable, he won't get fired." He explained "I'm waiting for him to say the wrong thing to the wrong person. Hopefully then we can punt him out of the base."

Crosshairs leaned forward, and took another sip of his energon. Hound noticed the tension that seemed to fill the mech, and silently wondered if Mark was even aware that the mech had come to care so much. "When did you start caring so much, anyway?" He asked politely "After you fought me nearly every step of the way..." He added.

Crosshairs was silent for a long time, but his optics eventually trailed over. "After Cyclonus attacked... I noticed how... Worried I was about him." Crosshairs explained "I may not agree taking him in was the best idea. But it's somewhat built as he's been back in my presence." He then added "He's not that bad a young human, he's nothing like his father. Which frankly, is a blessing."

"He reminds you of yourself, doesn't he?"

"No comment."

Hound smirked, though in some ways, he did see the similarities. Crosshairs took a deep breath as he finished his somewhat broken cube, setting it on the table in front of him. "Fine..." Crosshairs muttered "Maybe a little, with his sarcasm, and his stubbornness." Crosshairs looked at Hound half-expectedly "I remember back when I was the equivalent of his age, many read me wrong..." He shook his head "And I did the same thing as an adult."

Hound smirked, sipping his energon slightly. "I never thought I'd see you admit that you were wrong." Hound joked, earning a slug in return "It doesn't hurt to show ye care once in a while, Crosshairs, you do know that, right?" The mech's next response was a middle finger "Fine, of course no one should know you have an actual spark in that chamber of yours."

"I have my reputation as a hard aft to uphold." Crosshairs replied dryly "I like my reputation."

"I have the same reputation."

"You also have the reputation of being a giant "teddy bear"."

That time, it was Hound's turn to slug Crosshairs. Though he knew it was more than true, he had the reputation alongside the late Ironhide as being the softest "tough" mech around. In some ways it was a blessing, as younglings didn't fear him. But in others, like now, it made him the open target for much teasing. "It's a good thing he needs a tough "teddy bear"." Hound snorted a bit "And there isn't anything wrong with being that way, I'll have ye know."

"I never said there was." Crosshairs stood to his feet "I have some reports I still need to file before we head to Europe." He told him "You gonna be able to hold up okay while I'm gone?" He teased.

"I'll manage." Hound replied "Get to work you smart-aft."

Hound silently watched his friend leave with a inward sigh. It was good to know that the mech cared about Mark as much as he did, at least to an extent. Because if he ever was given reason to worry about this "Coulton" fellow, he had a feeling they were going to need all the support they could get.


	16. Friends and Teachers

**CHAPTER 16  
Friends and Teachers**

Mark both loved and hated his new school, for varying reasons. For one, he hated the fact that he was away from the friends he had grown up with. But on the other, the students had all welcomed him with mostly open arms. There were a few exceptions, but for the most part, the students seemed to be friendly, allowing him to cultivate a small group of new friends. Despite the fact that he had skipped a single grade, fifth to be exact, and therefore had started high school at thirteen rather than fourteen, making him one of the youngest around. The closest one he had made so far was a young man around his age named Kenny, who had been the first person to introduce himself, and the closest friend he had. And on the other hand, he had Tess Yeager, who, although in the last month of her senior year, had tried her best to make him feel welcome.

Even if she still found it a little strange that he had spent a few weeks in her barn. "Mark!" Mark's head shot up as Tessa pulled him out of his thoughts, which had been cultivating over lunch "You okay? I've been talking to you for the last five minutes." She cocked an eyebrow "Are you not getting enough sleep over there at NEST?"

Kenny's green eyes turned to meet Mark's as he blew a strand of blond hair away. He waved a hand in front of Mark playfully as the boy gently smacked it away. Kenny rolled his eyes. "Nah, he's just being a space cadet." He added, sipping on his milk carton slightly "Then again, I don't exactly live on a military base with a bunch of giant robots, so..." He began.

"I'm fine." Mark replied "I just was thinking about stuff..." He explained "Things at the base are fine if you just forget that jerk, Coulton." He scoffed as he said the man's name, it had tasted like venom to him "What's up Tess, everything okay?"

Tessa nodded her head, taking another spoonful of spaghetti, or what Mark hoped was spaghetti. She locked eyes with Mark, and stared at him awkwardly for a long moment before speaking. "Dad wants to invite you over for dinner some time this week." Mark's eyebrows lifted a bit "Shane'll be there too, and he figures you could maybe use a homecooked, actual meal for once." Mark chuckled a little "Plus, Bee kind of misses you."

"So he's not annoyed that I was a stowaway in his barn?"

"Nah, he gets it." Tessa replied with a small smile "As best as he can, anyway." She paused a moment "So what do you say? Bee could pick us both up on Friday and drive us over." She looked at Kenny after a moment, a tinge of guilt "You can come too if you want, Kenny. Don't want you to feel left out, and I'm sure dad won't really care, I'm going to be cooking anyway."

Kenny put his hands behind his head, and looked thoughtful a moment. "Do I get to ride in the Autobot too? Because seriously, Tess. I feel a little left out of the giant robot stuff." Tessa rolled her eyes, and nodded her head "Sweet, I'm there, next to getting on-base this could be legit the best day of my life." Mark laughed a little at that "What? Don't act like the Autobots aren't awesome just because you live with them."

"Other than the giant robot thing, they're pretty normal guys." Mark replied "But I get it, the first time I ran into Hound, I practically pissed my pants. It's pretty exciting." Tessa gave a disgusted look at the notion "What? You've seen even bigger ones than I have. Don't act like it isn't awesome." Tessa shook her head "You're too serious all the time."

"I was too busy trying not to die." Tessa replied "Optimus literally had a cannon pulled on my dad and I at the time."

"I'm so jealous you actually got to meet Optimus Prime." Kenny stated for the fifth time since he met Tessa.

Mark rolled his eyes, and stood with his empty tray, starting towards the trash can. As he made his way over, he found himself nearly knocking over a young woman. "I am so sorry!" Mark stuttered "I didn't see you..." His heart nearly stopped as he looked up at the girl "Coming."

The girl was the most beautiful girl Mark had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of girls. She was tall and African American, with startling auburn eyes and wavy brown hair, with a smile that looked like it could have sparkled if the light hit her teeth. Though Mark didn't try to stare too hard, she seemed to look a good year or two older than him. "It's fine." The girl replied "I was just kinda in a rush, I'm meeting some friends." She added politely "If anything I should really apologize to you."

Mark chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right... Yeah, you're fine." He shook his head "I mean it's fine!" The girl giggled "I'm just going to shut up now." He threw the remainder of his lunch away "I won't keep you any longer, seeyah."

"Bye."

As he rushed back to where Tessa, Kenny, and their friends were sitting, Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Maria Abelli, huh?" Tessa asked, Mark's face flushed a bit "She's cute, but don't press your luck. She's a junior, and trust me, a lot of guys have their eyes on her." Mark turned back to the girl, Maria, for a moment as she walked out the door of the cafeteria "You'd have a better shot with me, and I'm taken."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Mark flicked her arm slightly.

"You know I didn't mean it that way."

As the conversation turned back to other things, Mark looked over his shoulder once again. Maria, he was definitely going to have to remember that name, or at least try to.

...

Hound sighed as Mark pulled back into NEST base later that day with Sideswipe. He stared around, making sure the yet again "visiting" Coulton was not around before giving a warm smile as the boy climbed out. "Afternoon, Mark. Sorry I couldn't pick you up today, I've had a lot of work." Hound noted as Mark gave a "thank you" to Sideswipe before jogging over to stand beside Hound " I actually still have work to do as we speak, so Sideswipe is going to keep you company for a while." He noted, then added "How was school?"

"It was school." Mark shrugged "But seriously, you still have work? It wasn't because of last night, was it? I didn't mean to keep you aw-."

"Don't worry about it." Hound replied "Go have some fun with Sideswipe, Primus knows he enjoys the chance to screw around." He nodded calmly as said mech rolled up beside Mark and he started off "Don't do anything to get him arrested, Sides, that's all I ask."

"No promises."

Mark giggled a little as Sideswipe crossed his arms, and watched Hound leave. Mark knew the frontliner well enough by now, as he had guarded his foster family before he came there. And though they still weren't quite as thick as thieves, he did like the mech quite a bit. "So, since I've got sparksitting duty, y'know we're gonna have fun." He noted "What do ye say, kid? Video games? Pranks? I bet we could even get that one stuck up aft."

Somehow, Mark wasn't surprised that Sideswipe thought of pranking Coulton. Though the idea was tempting, he also didn't want to get arrested either, and thus wrote off the idea almost instantly. "Nah, let's not get Hound mad that we got arrested." Mark crossed his arms too "How about we go driving or something? You know, drifiting out in the boondocks?"

"I heard that." Crosshairs noted as he walked by "If you take him drag racing, Hound will tan your hide."

Mark nearly flipped Crosshairs off, but simply sighed as he took a seat. He stared around the Autobot's main area slightly, thinking through what he could do. "I got an idea." Sideswipe snapped one of his large metal fingers with an "aha" "Why don't we go into town and see a movie or something? I hear that new Planet of the Apes movie is getting good reviews." He added "And that's a pretty fragging awesome series."

"You like Planet of the Apes?" Mark asked.

"Why? Don't you?"

Mark shrugged, he hadn't actually seen the series, though he heard good things. "I got a better idea." Mark replied "Sides, you're a big combat instructor, kinda, right?" He asked, Sideswipe nodded his head in response to that "Can you teach me to fight?" Sideswipe raised an optic ridge "What? If I'm going to live here, I wanna know how to defend myself if things ever go wrong."

Sideswipe gave Mark a look of confusion as he rolled back and forth slightly. "You want me to try and teach a human barely out of sparklinghood to fight?" Sideswipe asked with a hint of amusement "Kid, don't take this the wrong way, but you're a youngling. Any threat, even human, is going to hand you your aft regardless." Mark grimaced at that "It's the truth! You were only barely fourteen when we met you."

"I'm fourteen and five months." Mark tried.

"Exactly." Sideswipe replied "Point being, you're only barely a youngling."

"Stop being a jerk!" Mark shouted "Or are you just scared that I might actually be able to take you?"

Sideswipe looked down at Mark thoughtfully as he stroked his chin. It was clear that the mech didn't want to end up hurting him, and with good reason. To the mechs and most adults, he was still a young child, barely a teenager. Yet, people learned how to fight at younger ages, though probably in no way at Sideswipe's level. Or with weapons as he guessed might be involved. But deep inside, he knew he could do this if he tried. "Fine." Sideswipe finally replied "But don't say I didn't warn you. This isn't kid's stuff, if I'm going to teach you self defense I'm going to teach you serious self-defense."

"Bring it." Mark tried.

Less than thirty an hour later, Mark and Sideswipe had entered one of the training rooms. Mark tried his best to do the forms which Sideswipe had taught him, but only served to make himself look silly. He silently thanked God that Hound couldn't see his attempts at "striking" the air. He was pretty sure that the formidable fighter would have been laughing by now. "Well, that's not _terrible_." Sideswipe told him as his holoform, a tall, red haired man in his 30s approached him "But you want to hold your arms up more like this." He noted as he positioned his arms correctly "Okay, now release."

The punch Mark shot landed against the holoform's chest. Though it didn't do much, Sideswipe gave a small smirk. "Not bad. That's better form at least." He added "Give me another one-two." Mark swung at the air twice "Again." Mark obliged "Uppercut." Mark swung his fist up in a vertical motion "Thrust!" Sweat dripped down his brow at this point "Getting tired?"

"Is this all you're gonna show me?" Mark asked.

"Baby steps." Sideswipe replied "It's not like I'm gonna make you spar, or give you a weapon in the first hour, or day." He snorted, then noticed Mark's frown "Did you want me to teach you to fight, or did you just want to make more of a fool out of yourself?" Mark grimaced, which was all the answer Sideswipe needed "Thought so..." He then added "We can still catch a movie..."

"No." Sideswipe's optic ridges shot up at Mark's reply "Keep going, I want to learn."

Sideswipe wasn't sure if it was determination, or sheer stubbornness in the boy, but he couldn't help but grin. He looked down at Mark, and nodded his head. "There's the tough guy I want to see." Mark smiled a little at that response "Did I tell you to lower your arms? Get them back into position, or you're already beaten down before you've even started!" Mark put his fists up again "Now, show me that jab."

As Mark continued to follow the orders of Sideswipe, neither noticed as Hound stopped at the window to the training room. He watched the two silently for a long moment, smiling with pride, that was his boy, never giving up. And something told him, as he continued on his way, that it would be that drive that would allow Mark to become a formidable fighter in his own right. "He's looking good." He told Sideswipe over his comm link "Try not to work him up too bad though, he'll get too exhausted."

"No pain, no gain." Sideswipe replied over comm cheekily "You and Ironhide never made me stop when I was exhausted."

"He has school tomorrow, and homework."

"Party pooper." Sideswipe snarked "Fine, I'll run him through a few more drills and call it a day."

"Thank you." Hound smirked "And good luck."

He couldn't wait to hear how the rest of the session went when they saw each other that night.


	17. Addressing an Issue

A/N: So, an extremely minor edit to last chapter was made. I hadn't thought that Mark being barely 14 made sense as to him being in high school yet. So the simple edit, he skipped fifth grade. Not going to make him a genius or anything, just going with that. XD Now, moving onto the next chapter.

...

**CHAPTER 17  
Addressing an Issue**

Mark felt a little nervous being inside the Yeager's actual home for the first time. He knew that Cade, Tessa's father, didn't care about what he had done. Yet he was still faintly reminded of the fact that for quite a while, he had been seeing the home from a distance. It was a double first on top of it, as along with being the first time he properly met Cade, it was the first time he was meeting Tessa's boyfriend, Shane. The boy hadn't said much, simply fawning over his girlfriend as Mark and Cade sat mostly in silence in Cade's living room (which by now was complete), watching TV. "So I thought the other boy was coming, Kenny...?" Cade questioned as Mark looked over "What happened?"

"He got sick." Mark replied "He was pretty bummed too. So I convinced Bee to drop by his house on his way to take me back to base." He laughed a bit "He's kind of a fanboy." He added.

Cade chuckled, shaking his head as he took a potato chip and popped it into his mouth. He rolled his eyes a bit, and took a sip of the beer to the side of him as he looked back to the fourteen year old. "Aren't we all at the beginning? When I first saw Optimus, I was somewhere between terror and amazement." Mark laughed a little at that, and the man rubbed his chin "You must be over that by now, I guess, huh?" He asked "Living with them every day kinda takes the fun out of it, I bet."

"Don't you get that with Bee?" Mark asked.

"Nah, Bee comes and goes as he pleases." Cade shrugged innocently "Don't get me wrong, he's like family to us. But we're not all under the same roof twenty-four seven." Mark nodded his head, understanding what Cade was getting at now "I can't even imagine doing what you're doing really."

Mark shrugged leaning back against the couch as he sighed. He did suppose it was a different feeling, living with giant robots. But he felt as though the human base, and the overall tone made it somewhat more normal. "It's actually pretty cool." He finally answered after several moments "Something's always happening, especially with the Dinobots..." Cade raised his eyebrow "Uh, the giant metal dinosaurs." Cade finally nodded, now remembering "There's never really a dull moment when you have things like a one hundred foot fire breathing t-rex around."

Cade shrugged, and held up his beer to that. "I can imagine." Cade nodded his head "Hound's not too shabby either though, talk about having a badass for a dad." Mark laughed, nearly spitting out his coke "But they're all kind of awesome, I can't deny that much." He explained "They find any more of the 'Bots, or are they... Y'know?" Mark raised an eyebrow "Bee won't talk about it."

"Two of them, I think." Mark replied "My dad and his team... Well, you know."

"Yeah, that's another reason I wanted you to come over." Cade paused "Did they... Tell you, how your dad died, I mean?" Mark shook his head "I feel I owe you an apology, kid. He came after me in Hong Kong..." Mark's eyes widened, as if he was hearing things "I never killed anyone in my life, but... That day, I didn't have a choice."

That took a minute to settle in with Mark. Cade had killed his dad, he was sitting and sharing friendly chatter with the man that had taken his entire world from him. His stomach twisted, he wanted to punch Cade, he wanted to punch him and scream, and curse. But he couldn't, he couldn't bring himself to do anything but stare at the man with a look of shock and awe. "I gotta go." Mark muttered "This was a bad idea... This was a really bad idea."

"Mark-."

"You killed my dad, and you want to act like that didn't happen."

"He almost killed Tessa a few days earlier, I was angry."

Mark clenched his jeans slightly, he tried his best to control himself. He wouldn't go off on this man, he wouldn't let this get to him. "Dad!" Tessa stepped into the room "What is your problem? I told you not to talk about this..." She watched as Mark stood to his feet and started towards the door "Mark! Wait!" She tried to catch up, but watched as Mark walked out the door and slammed it shut "Great..."

"I thought I owed him an apology." Cade stood to his feet "I didn't think-."

"I get it, but couldn't you have waited at least a little while?" Tessa replied before taking hold of the front door and rushing out with another shout of "MARK!"

Cade frowned as Shane entered the room soon after, then looked at Cade. By the look on his face, he looked more confused than Cade had ever seen him, and that included during their "adventure". "What's going on? Why'd the kid leave?" Shane asked, pointing out the door "Was he really Savoy's kid? Like that crazy government official?"

"Nothing gets past you, Lucky Charms." Cade jested.

Though he knew it was not a good time to joke, after all that had just happened. What had he been thinking? The kid barely knew him, but now he would always know that he was the man that killed his father. He wasn't the man that ruined his family, Savoy himself would have done that anyway, but he was the one that took his last family member away from him, and he'd be damned if he didn't feel like crap. "Maybe I should go out there and give her a hand." Shane commented "Or?"

"Nah, he's not coming back either way." Cade replied "Just go make sure that dinner isn't burnt."

He was never going to hear the end of this, and he knew it.

...

Mark almost felt tempted to walk all the way back to base, even if it took hours. But instead, he convinced himself to walk as far away from the home as he could and call Hound. It was a good plan, he guessed, no one would catch him out there as long as he was smart about it. The only problem? He hadn't counted on Bumblebee or Tessa following him, let alone both. Yet, no more than a minute later, Bumblebee was driving alongside him, playing the soft tunes of "You've Got A Friend in Me" as he rolled the window down to reveal Tessa. "Mark, get in." Tessa commented.

"I don't want to." Mark muttered.

"Give me five minutes and if you still want to leave we'll take you home." Tessa replied, her eyes sympathetic "Come on, you're mad at my dad, but you're not mad at me, are you?" Mark stopped in his tracks and stared over as she popped open the passengers side door as he slowly climbed in "Good, you don't hate all of us, that's a start."

Mark was silent, leaning back and crossing his arms. Wondering what the girl could possibly tell him that would ever make him think about going back in. Would he still talk to Tessa? Yes. But would he ever be able to look at her father again? He really, really doubted it. "What do you want to say?" Mark asked "Give him another chance? He's a good guy deep down?" He asked "I get it, Tessa. But he killed my dad. He's the reason I'm an orphan."

"Well, yeah, he is a good guy and you should give him another chance." Mark rolled his eyes as Tessa began "But I know how you feel, y'know. Probably better than you do." Mark was silent for a long moment, but Tessa simply rubbed the steering wheel "I never knew my mom... Just like you. She died a little after I was born, and when I was old enough to understand that... Well, I was angry at a lot of people, for a long time."

Mark leaned back in his seat, and stared over at Tessa with a frown. "Like?"

"The doctor that tried to save her, my dad, God." Tessa shook her head "I felt like, when I started to get older... They were the reason I didn't have a mom to teach me about all the girly things like make-up, and boys, and dating..." She paused a moment "I loved my dad, but there was always that empty feeling she left behind when she died. Even if I never got to know her."

"Is there a point?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, when I got older, I realized you can't stay mad at people." Tessa shook her head "I know how hard it sounds, Mark. And probably how stupid it sounds too... I mean, my dad killed him, there's no way of changing that. And I don't even blame you for being mad at him." Mark looked down "But think about it, would you have done it any different? If you had a gun to you, and someone threatened you?" Mark stared over "Hell, I could even have been in your place right now if things had played out any different."

Mark bit his lip, his eyes lowering to the floor slightly. "How do you look past it?" Mark asked "How can I look your dad in the face and not think about it... Not think about _him_?" She knew "him" was referring to his dad.

Tessa ran a hand through her hair, and thought through what to say carefully. After all, she had only stopped being mad at her dad about other things a few short months ago. And in a way, that made this whole talk even harder than she had expected. "Just remember that... The only reason he even told you this is because of how bad he feels... And because he feels bad." Mark frowned a bit "Everyone deserves a chance, Mark. And I bet if you gave my dad one you'd see that he never meant for you to be left alone."

Mark looked away, he supposed he wasn't totally "alone", not with the Autobots at least. For a moment, he leaned back, and sighed quietly, closing his eyes and allowing himself to think it over. "C'mon kid." The radio crackled to life as a sound clip played "I bet he's gonna surprise you."

Mark looked down at the radio again, then out the windshield, and towards the Yeager farm. In his head, he tried his best to think of what to do, and what to say. It was a long debate, and one that he had to think through for a long time before he finally turned to Tessa, and gave his answer.

...

Cade turned his head as the front door opened again twenty minutes later. As Tessa stepped in, he gave a somewhat-sad smile, though he had seen it coming, he had known it would. Yet, after a moment, his eyes widened with surprise as Mark meekly stepped up behind her. Tessa looked between the two of them, then chewed her lip. "I'll leave you two to talk."

Mark opened his mouth to reply, but Tessa was already off. Leaving himself and Cade standing face to face, at a standstill and loss for words. Mark shifted on his feet a bit, and then sighed. But it was Cade who spoke first. "I'm really sorry, that wasn't right of me." Cade told him gently "I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that. And I should have saved that until you knew me better."

"That may have been worse." Mark replied "I don't like secrets."

"Well, I haven't got any more secrets." Mark nodded his head in response as Cade stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder "I can't say how sorry I am that you had to lose your family so I could live." He explained "And I want you to know, if there's anything you need... Anything..." He paused a moment, unsure of how to finish "Consider me a confidant. Anything you need, you can come to me, or if you, maybe just need to talk... Or anything."

Mark's eyes softened, amazed that the man was willing to be that way. He could tell the man had an insane amount of guilt, he knew he had to considering what he was offering, a second person to go to. And though he knew it would be a long time before he could even consider it, the gesture, none-the-less, got him one step closer to trusting this man. "Thanks..." Mark finally replied, though his voice was strained "I appreciate that."

Cade smiled a bit, and put an arm around the boy. He felt the boy tense, yet he didn't waver. He felt that he owed it to him to be warm and welcoming, so that one day, he could maybe forgive him. And in that sense, Cade could one day forgive himself for taking the man's life in the first place. A fact that, though he wouldn't admit it, shook him to his very core. "Well then, I think dinner's almost ready." Cade attempted "Let's go see how that chicken's coming."

With some hesitation, Mark followed the man towards the kitchen.

...

A/N: I figured this would have to be addressed eventually. Hope I addressed it well. :)


	18. Small Frustrations and Big Trouble

**CHAPTER 18  
Small Frustrations and Big Trouble**

There were times that Hound almost wished that he hadn't opted to be a father again. It was never Mark's fault, at least directly, but he noted that, with a human son, things became harder. The chief of which he quickly learned was the fact that the human homework was so easy that he nearly wanted to shout the answers to Mark when he struggled. As he currently did now over the science homework that rested in his lap, partially finished, but with still yet a ways to go. Hound peeked over Mark's shoulder, and bit his metal lip slightly. "What?" Mark asked, peering up from writing down another answer "The answer is in farenheight, right?"

"Celsius." Hound finally managed to state.

Mark sighed, erasing his answer yet again, as he grimaced slightly. It was clear that the boy was becoming flustered, though he tried to hide it given that he was doing his homework in the main Autobot hangar that morning. Mark hated spending the first day of his weekend doing homework, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to hang out if he didn't finish. "I just don't get science and math." Mark shook his head a bit "I get I'm going to use this at some point..."

"It comes in handy, at least."

"Maybe I should take a break." Mark replied "Call it being lazy, but I really don't feel like doing any more of this." Hound watched as Mark started to stuff his homework into his backpack again "And you're all walking computers. So it's not like you can exactly help me without cheating." He began.

Hound tilted his head, knowing Mark had a point. Yet he also knew that he wasn't the best teacher when it came to science, or math for that matter. Though he was often good with mechanics, engineering, and various other school subjects. "If I could teach you, I would. I honestly never have been good at teachin' stuff like this. And believe me, I tried when... Yer older brother was in school." Hound rubbed the back of his helm "I don't know who really could teach ye, maybe one of the humans." He murmured.

Mark felt a tinge of surprise as Hound called his late son his "older brother". Though he supposed that Hound only wanted him to feel like he was a part of his family, fostered or not. "What did you do when Coldsteel was in school, then?" Mark asked, his eyes traveling up "If you weren't good at teaching stuff, you had to do something, right?" He asked.

"I usually sent him to Wheeljack." Hound tensed a little "Unfortunately, he's since passed on to the Well of Allsparks." Mark took notice of the frown on Hound's face and returned it with a soft, comforting smile "Don't worry, that was a long time ago. Before I even came to Earth." Hound shook off the thought of what happened in Chicago, or what he had heard at least, silently "I suppose I could give it a try though, if you let me see the paper again."

Mark hesitated a moment, but soon took the paper out again and handed it to Hound's holoform as it appeared. The mech's eyes scanned the paper as he scratched his holoform's hair silently. He definitely didn't know how to break this down properly as much as he would have liked. "Hound!" Hound turned his head as Lennox entered the hangar "Get the Autobots ready, ASAP. There's been Decepticon activity in Nevada."

Hound was almost thankful for the excuse. "Mark, stay here. You know the drill, anything happens, you find one of the NEST personnel staying behind right away." The mech told him as his holoform handed the homework back to the disappointed young man "I know, I promised we'd go out and do something later. But can we take what you humans call a rain check? You still have a lot of your homework left anyway."

"Sure thing, Hound." Mark half-smiled "You be careful though."

"Will do." Hound ruffled the boy's hair before his holoform disappeared "I'll be back before dinner." He winked, and began to walk off, talking into his comm.

Mark groaned quietly, and threw the homework onto the desk in front of him. He definitely understood that Hound had to go on these missions, but there were times that he truly wished he didn't have to. That his foster father wasn't fighting in a war, and couldn't die at any time just like his real one. In many senses, he dreaded the day that might never come, the day that Hound didn't come home with his smiling face and kind words, or his failed attempts at helping him with his homework. He closed his eyes, and promised himself for the eight millionth time that Hound would be okay, he was one of the best of the best and he had to have faith in that and what he did.

He came out of his thoughts as a hand dropped down on his shoulder, and he turned to see Epps. "Hey, Hound called me over comm and said you were having some issues with your science homework." Epps replied, Mark nodded his head slowly "Well, be glad I live on-base. Because it just so happens, when I went to college, my minor was science."

Mark gave a half smile. "Yeah, I guess I am lucky then." Mark replied "Thanks, Epps."

"Any time, let me see what you're studying."

As Mark handed over the homework, his eyes lifted at the sound of footsteps. Out came the Autobots, in a march towards the exit of the Autobots side and out into another battle. Mark caught sight of Hound's optics, and the mech simply gave him a smile back, with a thumbs up before turning away and continuing the march. Mark kept his eyes on his makeshift "family" quietly long after they had left. "Hey." Mark looked back at Epps "They're gonna be fine, Hound's a tough mech." He nudged Mark gently "Come on, kid. Let's get this homework done."

Reluctantly, Mark turned his attention back to the paper as Epps began to explain.

...

"I just feel bad having to leave him like that."

Hound leaned himself against the wall of the Autobot transport ship, sighing quietly. It was definitely nice to have the large transport now, as opposed to taking the whole ride to and from the battle in alt mode like they used to. Currently, they were on their way back after a (failed) attempt at tracking the Decepticon, Knock Out through the Nevada desert. It had mostly been a waste of time, as he had been long gone, with only some small indications of who was there to point towards his identity.

Hound felt frustrated by the notion, the Decepticons were growing in number. And the more they grew, the more chance there was that Galvatron would soon have the army he once craved again. "Who? The kid?" Crosshairs asked from a corner of the drop ship "Hound, we're at war again, the kid gets it. Trust me." He commented bluntly "We can't spend every day looking after the kid. That's why he's living at NEST in the first place. He's with Epps, and the others that stayed behind." He explained.

Hound nodded his head, he knew that much as the truth. They had kept him at NEST at the hope that Mark could be easily protected by all members of the group could protect him when they were not around. But it didn't change the fact that Mark was still his foster son, and he needed that in his life. "I'm just terrible at teaching him things like homework... And I'm never going to get better if I keep running off." Hound explained "I know it's silly, but I am supposed to be his legal guardian."

"Don't allow yourself to take in such guilt." Drift spoke from where he was seated nearby "You do much for the young ward you have taken underneath your wing. But no parent or caretaker is perfect." He began "There are things even the youngest grasshopper must learn on their own."

Hound stared at Drift, chuckling a little bit in response. It was a true statement, after all, Mark would have to learn some things on his own. And perhaps his science homework was among those things he would have to learn in that way. "Speaking of the kid..." Sideswipe spoke up "Do we have any idea what made Cyclonus go so quiet?" He then added "That mech doesn't take defeat well, but we haven't heard a peep in months."

Hound shrugged his shoulders uncertainly, staring off into the distance. To tell the truth, he was worried about Cyclonus's silence just as much, if not more than the others. But he tried to hide it as best as he could, after all, he didn't often like to show fear. "NEST has been attempting to track him, and Hound and I are monitoring what we think could be activity from him." Crosshairs spoke up in his place "But the mech's a ghost, and he's fragging good at becoming one when he wants to be."

"We'll find him." Hound stated calmly "And when we do, I plan to rip that piece of slag apart piece-by-piece."

"Violence need not always be the answer to conflict." Drift commented.

"It does when ye try to blow my youngling sky high." Hound replied with a scoff, taking out another "cigar" in frustration "Hey Friar! How much longer until we land back in Texas?" He poked his head through into the cockpit where the human pilot held up two fingers, signaling two hours "Heh, we'll get back in time for-."

He hadn't even gotten the chance to finish his sentence when his comm came to life. Hound carefully settled his hand over the side of his head to activate it. "Hound, we got a situation." Hound raised his optic ridge in confusion as Lennox began "We think that we just got word of a sighting of Galvatron,." Hound tensed a bit at the mention of the Decepticon leaders name "He was sighted in Washington DC near where Savoy used to live, or at least in the general area."

"Why would he go there?" Hound questioned.

"You tell me, big guy..."

Hound's optic ridge furrowed, uncertainty in his optics. Had the Decepticons suspected that after Mark was put in foster care, supposing they knew that was the case, that he would be sent back to his city of origin? And if so, were they looking for him? He didn't put it past them, Mark was a good hostage if they could get their hands on him after all. "I say we go down there and find out for ourselves." Hound replied "Are your men equipped for a possible altercation?"

"They said he disappeared, Hound, he's gone." Lennox explained "They said it kinda looked like he went through one of those space bridges from Chicago, but smaller. Like he just... Teleported." Hound's optics narrowed "They're trying to track him, but it's going to be a while to analyze the energy residue they're saying it left behind."

"And Mark..." Hound muttered.

"Epps says he just checked on him an hour ago." Lennox replied "He's fine, Hound. In his room playing a video game. We don't even know that they were looking for him."

"Right, so where do we go from here?"

"Home." Lennox's voice sounded annoyed "Coulton wants us to debrief him on both situations, I'm not exactly happy about it." Hound's engine revved, he definitely wasn't happy that he would have to see that man again either "I got a bad feeling though, with Galvatron in DC..."

"It could mean a lot of things." Hound agreed "None of them good."

There was silence on the other line, but Hound knew what he was thinking. It could mean that someone still had a deal with them, it could mean he was looking for Mark, it could mean a lot of bad things. "What's going on?" Hound turned his head as Crosshairs approached him slowly "What's Lennox want?"

Hound shook his head. "Galvatron was spotted in DC."

The words reverberated throughout the carrier, with each of the Autobots appearing disturbed and surprised. Usually, there was time between his appearances, a year, two years, even three. But this was soon, this was _too_ soon. "We need to get a message out to Prime as soon as we get back to base." Crosshairs commented "He has Cyclonus and Knock Out on Earth, Primus knows who else is coming."

"Or what they want." Sideswipe commented pointedly.

"I know you guys have a lot to talk about." Lennox interrupted over Hound's comm "We'll talk when we land."

"Good idea." Hound replied as he closed the comm link "Get that message out to Prime as soon as we land, I'll handle the officials." He explained.

This was going to be a _long_ day.


	19. Worries and Good News

**CHAPTER 19  
Worries and Good News**

"So you guys are actually going to try and get Optimus back to Earth?"

Drift turned his head as Mark made his way into their communications area. Crosshairs was busy typing away at a large console, trying to pinpoint Optimus's location. Given the fact he was dressed in his pajamas, and rubbing a tired eye, the boy must have heard the commotion, and perhaps conversations and woken up. "Mark, you should go back to bed, sparkling." Drift told him politely "Sincerest apologies if we aroused you from your sleep."

Mark shrugged, yawning quietly. "It's cool." He told him "I wasn't sleeping really soundly anyway. So are you going to tell me what's going on? I though Hound said you guys were letting Optimus do his thing?" The two mechs stood silently, staring at one-another "Come on, I live with you guys, I'm gonna know eventually anyway." He half-muttered "If I couldn't know this, you guys wouldn't have been shouting about this loud enough that I could hear."

Crosshairs sighed, turning around to stare down at Mark. He crossed his arms, and looked at him. "Galvatron's back. Or at least appears to be." Crosshairs explained, watching as Mark's eyes seemed to bug slightly "Which wouldn't be a problem if he were still on his own." He turned around and continued his typing "But with more Decepticons coming we need our true leader, our Prime." He explained.

Mark nodded his head, and chewed his lip slightly. What did this mean for him? Would the Decepticons now target him even more? And what was more, if Optimus came back to Earth, what would he think of him being there? Would he not approve of the fact that the Autobots were housing an orphaned civilian? Let alone the orphaned civilian son of someone that had sought to destroy him? "Do not worry yourself, Mark." Drift stated, as if reading his thoughts "Everything will work out given time."

"And you definitely don't have to worry about Optimus." Mark turned around as Hound entered the room calmly "Part of the reason we even took you in is that it was what he would have done given the situation." Mark nodded his head slowly, after all, this was the reason he had opened their bond, he wanted Hound to hear that from Hound "You really should be asleep right now though, bud. It's late."

Mark shook his head, looking up at him. "I'm up now." He grumbled "It's a little late for that."

Hound sighed, knowing that he could convince Mark to go to sleep in a moment. He carefully stepped up and stopped as he stood beside Crosshairs. As if reading his friend's mind, the mech turned to Hound. " I managed to get an encrypted message to where Optimus should be." Crosshairs told him calmly "Just in case they make an attempt to intercept our message." Hound nodded his head "I suppose it's all up to fate now. If Prime doesn't get it, we're on our own."

Mark looked between them, and sighed a bit. "And what happens if you guys are on your own?" Mark asked, uncertainty in his voice "How powerful is Galavtron exactly? In that new form of his, I mean..." He commented "Because I get going by Chicago that Megatron was..."

"Worse now." Hound admitted "He doesn't run on a spark which makes him difficult to kill." Mark nodded a little, knowing enough about sparks that it made sense "If he gets his hands on an army and attacks us when we're leaderless..." He shook his head a little, his optics softening a bit "Well, it's not going to be pretty, son. Let me tell you that much."

Mark shuddered a bit at the thought, with any luck, maybe that wouldn't happen. But he knew by the looks on the Autobots faces, that there was a good chance it would happen if they didn't get in touch with Optimus. Drift took notice of Mark's growing intensity, and looked toward Hound. "Perhaps we should not be speaking of the more frightening possibilities while a youngling is present." He suggested.

Hound nodded, this time scooping Mark up in order to not give him a choice. "I agree." Hound commented "It's time for bed, Mark."

"But Hound!"

Hound didn't listen as he carried Mark back to his bedroom, and deposited him onto his bed. Mark started to move to get out and protest, but Hound carefully held up a hand and gave him a stern look. "This isn't something you need to be worrying about, Mark." Hound explained as calmly as his mood allowed "Let the other Autobots and I handle this."

"But Hound, I'm scared." Mark shook his head "What if something happens to you? Or the others? Galvatron could kill you, or-."

"Hey, nothing's gonna happen to me." Hound shook his head "I was practically on my last leg in Hong Kong, and look at me, I'm still standing." Mark looked away, only for Hound to tip his head up slightly "And what's more nothing is going to happen to any of us. Including_ you_." He stated firmly, rubbing his cheek "I won't let anything like that happen."

Mark shook his head. "My dad used to say that too."

Hound frowned slightly, looking down at the human boy. "I swear on my very spark." Hound spoke quietly, and firmly "Nothing is going to happen, Mark. No matter what happens, you will never lose me." Mark nodded slightly "Now, go to sleep, you'll feel better in the mornin', I think we all will." He stood from his crouched position slowly.

Mark finally nodded his head again, and laid his head down. "Alright..." Mark replied with great uncertainty "Goodnight, Hound."

"G'night Mark."

As Hound left, he silently vowed that he would not go back on his promise. Not only for Mark's sake, but for all of theirs. He was not going to lose any more of his friends, not as long as he was still functioning.

...

Hound tried his best to ignore the intensity around base the next day. Mostly, it required an easy feat, which was ignoring and avoiding the man that he despised, Coulton. Since arriving back on-base and being debriefed, the man had done his utmost best to say how bringing Optimus back was a big mistake given the bounty on his head, even considering the circumstances. So far, no encrypted message back from Prime had even been received, but Hound had to hold out what little hope he could that they would hear back soon.

What time he wasn't focusing on the current situation, he kept himself in the company of Mark. As it was very obvious that Mark was tense, and scared with the whole situation. So for most of the day, Mark was found on his shoulder, close by where Hound knew he would feel safe. "Hound?" The mech stared over at the boy as he was pulled from his thoughts again "You okay?"

Hound hadn't even realized that he had zoned out at his desk until he had spoken. Then again, he wasn't surprised either, he'd been going through multiple data pads and it was by far the worst of his duties. "I'm fine." Hound carefully picked Mark up off the desk and set him on his shoulder before exiting the office "I just need to get away from these slaggin' reports for a while." He stated as he put another of his "cigars" in.

"Does that kill you like our tobacco does?"

Hound shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not actually smokin' anything." Hound explained "It just kinda calms my nerves, I've learned." Mark had to laugh at that one, rolling his eyes "Don't let that be an excuse for you to start smokin' though. Your "smoking" kills _you_." He added very calmly "I just need it right now with tensions running so high."

Mark nodded a little, leaning back against his guardians shoulder. He could understand where he would need a stress releaser, after all, with all that was happening, he would be too if he were in the Autobot army. "Maybe we can go out and do something?" Mark suggested "Go into town, catch a movie, something...? We even have Monday off this week so we can go tomorrow too."

"I'd love to go and do something." Hound grunted "But the "snake" is still around."

Mark frowned at the mention of Colton, of course he would be the one to ruin the idea. "Of course..." Mark replied with a scoff "Maybe we can watch a movie in the rec room tonight, at least. I bet Lennox and Epps would be down for it too." Hound looked thoughtfully at that "I know you guys have some pretty wicked movies on-base, right?"

Hound shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I don't see why not." He finally spoke "Coulton should be gone by tonight, hopefully. So he can't really say much about that." Mark nodded his head a bit "We'll have to pick a good comedy or somethin'. I think we could all use the laugh." He added "Wanna go check up on Lennox and Epps and see if they want to arrange a movie night?"

"Sure!"

As Hound set him on the ground, he let Mark run off. Convinced that, at the very least, the boy had relaxed during his time spent with him. "He seems to have calmed down at least." Hound turned his head towards Sideswipe as he approached "At least that makes one of us." He shook his head and looked over at him "Ye want me to go keep him occupied, you've done that long enough."

"I could use that, yes." Hound replied "This paperwork will be the death of me, and keeping is mind off this hasn't been easy." He paused "He doesn't think I noticed, but I heard him all night last night. I don't think he got a wink of sleep." Sideswipe frowned, his optics softening "Kid has a lot on his mind, I think he does that more often than I even notice."

Sideswipe nodded his head, stroking his chin. Hound could tell that Sideswipe felt concern, given the fact that he had noticed that he and Mark were becoming closer. And Sideswipe, while being a little cocky, and self-centered, definitely was the type to worry about his friends. So he could only imagine that the mech wasn't doing good with that mental image. "I'll take him out of the base for the rest of the day once he talks to Lennox and Epps. Bring him back in time for the move." Sideswipe commented "So we don't have to worry about Coulton worsening this."

"No drag racing." Hound commented.

"I know, I know." Sideswipe replied "I always tell him." He called out "Mark, wait up l'il buddy!"

As Sideswipe rolled off, Hound gave a deep sigh. He really hoped that an afternoon out with Sideswipe could get Mark to calm his intensity down some. As his comm beeped yet again, Hound groaned, yep, this day would definitely be the death of him. "What's up Lennox? Mark was just looking for you." He commented.

"I know, we just met up." Lennox replied "I told him "yeah" but that's not what I'm calling about..." He paused a moment "We've got an Autobot making planetfall with an ETA of forty minutes just outside of Dallas." Hound's optics widened "Crosshairs just caught him, so I thought I'd let you know. We're meeting in the main hangar in fifteen."

"I'll be right there."

Hound almost felt an overwhelming feeling of relief wash over him. He knew it wouldn't be Optimus, but another member being added to their ranks was definitely a step in the right direction for once. And he'd take that over nothing at all.

...

A/N: Time for the first new Autobot, yay! :P Check back next chapter to find out who.


	20. A Growing Fondness

Guest: No problem! I try to answer any questions I can for my stories. Glad you like my explanation. :3 And oh most definitely, I loved Age of Extinction!

...

**CHAPTER 20  
A Growing Fondness**

Mark and Sideswipe returned to a NEST filled a commotion. The first thing that Mark observed about the situation was there was shouting from a male voice he hadn't heard before. Sideswipe, however, clearly noticed and recognized the voice, given how his optics widened in despair. "Oh Primus. If we're getting new recruits, could it be ANYONE but him?" He groaned, noticing as Mark raised an eyebrow "I hope you enjoyed having free rein kid, because you're never getting away with anything again." He then added, turning to the side "I'll catch you later, shorty."

Mark continued to be confused as he approached the source of the sound. Mark soon found himself in the presence of Hound and a tall, black and white, door-winged mech, who had his hands on his hips, and a serious look on his face. "There you two are." Hound commented as he turned around "Where did you go? You've been gone half the day."

"We went to the arcade and then a movie..." Mark paused looking up at the other mech "You didn't say we were getting a new arrival, who is he?"

The other mech stared down at Mark with curiosity. "Is this your foster son?" He questioned Hound, who nodded his head "Well then, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Prowl, and I am the second-in-command under Optimus Prime." He explained, Mark nodded his head "It's nice to meet you, Markus. I've been hearing from your caretaker about you for the past few hours."

"Good things?" Mark asked, Prowl nodded "It's nice to meet you too." He turned to Hound "So I guess this got you off the hook as leader, huh?"

"Thank Primus." Hound laughed, clearly confirming that "I was not built for leadership."

Mark had to admit, there was a certain relief in knowing that. Given the fact that it meant they would have more time together, and he definitely liked the idea of that. Prowl crossed his arms, and stared at Hound. "You did a good job as far as I could tell though." Prowl explained "Though I remain uncertain of whether bringing a child into the equation was the best idea." It was Mark's turn to cross his arms at that "Don't worry, I won't step in and kick you out. I simply was surprised it was allowed, and under other circumstances, I may have found a different solution."

Mark felt somewhat annoyed by that, yet not at the same time. After all, not everyone had agreed with it at the beginning either. "Well, I probably would've been too stubborn to listen anyway." Mark chuckled, though Prowl looked less-than-amused at Hound's answer "I've come to enjoy this little bitlet's company far too much." He smiled, and winked at Mark "Besides he doesn't cause any trouble."

"He spends time with Sideswipe and you expect me to believe that?" Prowl asked.

"Eh, okay, he doesn't cause _much _trouble." Mark stuck his tongue out at Hound for that one "Aw, come on, you're still a growing sparkling, of course you cause a little trouble." Mark rolled his eyes, though he agreed, remembering when he nearly got himself burnt to a crisp by Grimlock "Either way the point is, I think you two will get along well enough."

Prowl watched the boy silently, uncertainty in his optics. But though the mech gave off a stern aura, Mark could tell that he wasn't all bad. But he would not be taking Sideswipe's warning lightly. After all, the mech usually knew his way around the higher-ups. "I suppose it won't be much worse than when we had Bumblebee growing up on base. At least this one is already properly toilet trained." Mark felt his face flush with embarrassment "At least, I trust you don't lubricate everywhere."

"Not since I was a baby!"

Hound couldn't help but chuckle, despite the sideways glare his charge shot him. Smirking, Hound simply picked Mark up and deposited him on his shoulder, as if in apology. "He's right, y'know. He may be a tiny thing, but he's about fourteen human years old." He explained to Prowl "He also has a temper that would have rivaled ole Ironhide's sometimes. So I'd refrain from asking questions like that in front of him."

"Duly noted." Prowl replied "Just know that I will be keeping an eye on you." He explained to Mark "If you keep the trouble to a minimum, I don't see any reason we'll have any trouble." He then added "Now if you'll excuse me, I have the data pads you left unfinished to attend to reading." He explained "And more. It seems I have much to catch up on."

Mark watched as Prowl gave a small salute, and left towards the Autobot side of the base. Hound eyed his foster son carefully, and smirked a little. "Prowl's a bit... Unorthodox, and strict." Mark turned towards Hound slowly "But he's a good mech, don't worry, I think you both will get on just fine. Though, maybe take the antics down to a minimum when yer around him." Mark nodded his head slowly, though he didn't promise, knowing that was hard for a kid like him "Are you feeling any better than you were, youngling?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you were feeling off, and what's more is I know you didn't recharge last night." Mark looked away at that, Hound definitely read him too well sometimes "I'm going to be around more now." He explained "If that helps to quell these fears of yours at all?" This time, he got a small shrug "How about that movie night? That'll be fun." Mark smiled a little at that "And now I can definitely join you."

"No work at all? Nothing stopping you?" Mark asked "No late night calls?"

"Just you, me, and whoever else is coming. There hasn't even been a peep from the Decepticons tonight." Hound reassured him "I think that might serve to make ye feel better, am I right?" Mark nodded slowly, smiling "You really worry about me when I'm out there, don't you?" He asked.

"Yeah." Mark replied, his eyes lowering again "More than you'll probably ever know."

Inwardly, Hound made a mental note that they would have to work on those fears more than they had.

...

As it turned out, Hound really, really liked getting to sit down and spend a night with Mark for once. Though he felt a certain tinge of guilt at leaving Prowl to handle the work he left behind, he quietly reminded himself that Prowl liked work. And what was more, he reminded him twice over comm that he had earned some down time with his charge, given all the work that Prowl had been told he had put in. Though Hound could have argued further, the mech decided against it for Mark's sake. The boy needed some time with him, and frankly, he hadn't gotten a lot of it lately.

And so he sat on the Transformer sized chair with Mark at his side while other humans surrounded them. He'd been careful to pick a spot where he wouldn't be in front of anyone so that everyone would be able to equally enjoy the movie. Though frankly, the show, which involved a quest to destroy a ring and a lot of nonsense, didn't grab his attention, he smiled as Mark's eyes seemed to light up and show excitement. He sighed, and leaned back, thankful that the movie had managed to distract him, or perhaps, that some alone time with his guardian did.

"You hated it." Mark noted as the lights came on and the movie finally came to an end "Seriously? How can someone not like Lord of the Rings? It's awesome!" He commented "The magic, the story, the characters. Sometimes I'd just love to live in Middle Earth." He added.

Hound chuckled at the child-like wish, rolling his optics. The boy definitely had quite the imagination sometimes, he had to give him that. "It was an interesting film, but they lost me when the ring turned the human invisible." Hound admitted.

"He's a Hobbit!"

"I thought the characters in the movie were supposed to be speaking English."

It was Mark's turn to give a quiet laugh at Hound, shaking his head slightly. He stood to his feet and walked towards the exit to the rec room with Hound on his heels. "You're not a fantasy guy, obviously." Mark put his hands in his pockets "You know Hound, I'm glad we got to spend most of today together..." He paused a moment, his eyes softening "I mean I get it, you're an Autobot and everything... But I've missed this when you got busy." He admitted.

Hound smiled a bit with a twinkle in his optics. It was certainly a pleasant surprise to hear this from his charge. "I missed it too, Mark. I know you're very understanding about my work and all but..." He paused a moment "It's really hard leaving you with one of the other 'Bots sometimes." Mark smiled a bit "I've become quite fond of yer presence."

When it came to a giant robot, Mark wondered if that was as close to "I love you" as he was ever going to get. He knew that it was early on, and he understood that he had only been on-base a little over a month. Yet he still silently yearned for that feeling of being "loved" by someone again, a yearning he still wasn't sure was fulfilled yet. But he also understood that "love" was a strong word, and while he looked up to and admired Hound, he would be a hypocrite to bring it up to the commando, especially since he wasn't sure it described his own feelings towards him.

"Hound, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything, younglin'." Hound replied "What's on yer mind?"

Mark almost asked him the question, keyword: almost. Yet he stopped himself just short enough from the words to avoid that. "You know what, nothing, it's stupid." Mark waved it off a little bit "Stupid question." He shrugged his shoulders "So tomorrow, now that you're a little less busy... Do you think we could do something like this again? You know, maybe just the two of us though?"

Hound looked thoughtful, he knew that Prowl would want him back at work that day. But there was no saying that he couldn't put aside a part of his day to spend a little more time with Mark than he'd been able to as of late. "I'll have to return to my duties as normal most of the day." Hound replied "But we can go out and do something in the early evening. Maybe we can go star gazing again, I know you enjoy that."

Mark nodded his head a bit, grinning and looking up. "As long as you bring the stories. You know how I like listening to your old war stories." Hound grinned a little, nodding himself as his comm beeped "Well, at least he called at bedtime, right?" Mark asked as they stopped in front of his bedroom "You should go, no need to tuck me in or anything tonight."

"Alright, goodnight Mark." Hound nodded his head "Sleep tight, kiddo."

As Mark opened his door, Hound stood there for a long moment, thinking through things in his processor. Was this the night he'd finally be able to say it? He'd struggled with the three words for some time now. He knew he loved Mark like he would any biological child, that was getting clearer with each passing day. But was he sure? Was Mark going to reciprocate if he _was_ sure? He felt his spark tighten and then opened his mouth. "Mark..." The boy stopped and turned to face Hound "... If you can't sleep again, come get me if you need to talk."

Mark nodded his head. "Alright, I will."

Hound frowned as the door slid closed, apparently, tonight was not going to be the night. And in the deep recesses of his processor, that notion bothered him more than he would admit.

...

"You hailed me, Prowl?" Hound asked as he poked his head inside his office "Were the reports not clear enough?"

Prowl turned around, facing the mech quietly. In his hands, he held a data pad, one of many that seemed to be scattered on the desk. The second-in-command sighed, shaking his head. "They were very through." Prowl shook his head and held up a hand "I wanted to discuss what our plans were in handling the situation with the boy after this all blows over and Cyclonus is either dead or in custody."

Hound raised his optic ridges in confusion, placing his hands on his hips. "What do you mean, our plans?" Hound asked as he tilted his head "I don't know what they are yet. But if things go well enough, I was thinkin' adoption was a good next step." He then added "That way we'd no longer have social services snooping around here as often, and Coulton-."

"You're planning to keep him?" Prowl asked "Are you sure that is wise? With the war and all?" He then paused a moment "Especially considering the fact that not all Autobots will be taking what his father did so... Understandingly." He explained, as Hound's optics narrowed "Don't get defensive, Hound, I'm not saying it's a terrible idea. I was simply asking if we've looked into _other _options."

"Like what? He doesn't have any family to go to!" Hound replied "We're the closest thing to one he's had since his sire passed on."

Prowl shook his head a bit, and stood to his feet. "I understand that. I just thought we should weigh our options, all things considered." He explained politely, his optics turning to look back at Hound "Hound, I want you to understand something."

_Here we go... _Hound thought to himself.

As if reading the mech's thoughts, Prowl's optics narrowed, and Hound straightened. The second-in-command's doorwings twitched slightly, and he took some steps forward, closing the door behind them in case Mark heard anything. "I don't mind the fact that Mark is going to be with us, possibly permanently." Hound visibly relaxed at that "So long as you answer my next question from an officer's and not a foster father's stanpoint." He began "Are we positive that the boy can be trusted?" Hound's optic ridges raised "Don't take this the wrong way, Hound. I'm only concerned for those on this base..."

"He has my utmost trust." Hound stated firmly "I know I may be biased because I formed a bond with him early on. But he is nothing like the man that sired him, other than, perhaps, the good parts of him that he told me of." Prowl stared at him, a small frown on his face "He is young, and has much to learn. I'm not going to stand here and say he's perfect." He commented, looking him in the optics "But he's never lied to me, or any of us, once. He's very upfront, honest, and trustworthy. And I will defend his allegiance to us in front of Prime himself if I must."

"You'll have to, you know, if he makes planetfall."

"And I am prepared to."

Prowl nodded his head, the look on his face almost unreadable. "Then I trust your judgement, Hound." He told him calmly "I will not overrule your decision to keep him on for as long as he wishes." He explained "You're dismissed for the moment, though I wish to see you in the morning." He explained "I have a few data pads to go through, and may have more questions as well."

"Yes sir."

As Hound stood, and left the room, Prowl sat back at his desk, and sighed. If he was certain of one thing since he arrived on Earth, it was that it was most definitely going to be an interesting time on Earth.

...

A/N: Woo, that chapter gave me a little trouble! Haha I hope that it ended up good enough. :)


	21. Jokes and Celebration

**CHAPTER 21  
Jokes and Celebration**

"Yep, he's already driving me nuts."

Sideswipe laughed a little as Mark sat down next to him in the mess hall the next Saturday. The mech put his legs up on the table and looked at Mark with a cheeky grin. He had lasted longer than he had expected him to in Prowl's presence, that much he had to give him. "So, Prowler's given you a nice taste of how strict he can be, I take it?" Mark shot Sideswipe a sharp glare "What?"

"You find it amusing?" Mark asked, groaning "Do you know the caniption he had when he saw me with Grimlock yesterday?" He asked "He practically all but dragged me away from him. In front of that hot private, you know, the one right out of high school? The blond?" He asked.

"I don't look at human femme's that way." Sideswipe snorted "But slag, that does sound rough."

Mark grumbled something under his breath and crossed his arms. If he knew it probably wasn't the right time to be making jokes, he might have joked that the boy should quit acting like a sparkling. But he had a distinct feeling that he would be met with something to his helm, and the last thing he wanted was for his paint to be chipped. "Primus, you're gonna have a conniption if Red Alert ever comes to Earth." Mark raised an eyebrow "I could tell you who he is, but that would spoil the fun."

Mark rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "So..." Mark paused a moment "What do you do to keep out from his watch then?" Sideswipe raised an optic ridge "Oh come on, Sides. I know you well enough by now to know you have to know a way." He added as the mech chuckled slightly "I'm your little buddy, you've gotta let me in on your secret."

"My secret?" Sideswipe laughed "You mean twenty-eight vorns of dealing with him and knowing how he works?" Mark laughed a little at that, though it was clear by the look on his face he was still annoyed "Aw come on, he's not that hard to figure out. Just don't do stupid stuff when you're around him, or at least when he's looking." He nudged him a bit "You can't be that bothered though."

Mark shrugged, he supposed he wasn't too bothered by it. After all, despite how serious, and sometimes, as much of a buzzkill he sometimes was, Prowl was a nice mech. Oftentimes asking him how his day was, and when he passed him in the halls, having idle conversation. But then again, he was also the mech that didn't come into the mess hall to eat, and kept to himself unless he ran into you. So he wasn't totally sure that Prowl was really the "friendly" mech he made himself out to be towards him.

"I guess he's at least a nice guy." Mark replied "He could be like Coulton, serious and a dick and a half."

Sideswipe gave a quiet growl at the mention of Coulton's name, as most people often did. "Heh, yeah. Prowl's annoying at time, but he _is _a good guy, I'll give him that." He explained, sipping on his energon slightly "In fact, he gave Coulton a piece of his mind earlier. I almost called you in to see, but I knew you had homework to do." Mark chuckled a little "So... He giving you any more trouble?"

"Hound won't let him near me." Mark replied "I haven't even seen him."

"Good, I hear he's been saying some nasty slag about your dad that you don't need to hear." Mark cringed, though he wasn't entirely surprised by that either, the man had a grudge against everyone it seemed "So, I was thinking that we could do some more combat training today." Sideswipe told him calmly "You're making good progress, so I was even thinking you could start working on sparring." He added.

"Really!?" Mark asked, a grin spreading over his face, the mech nodded "Awesome, Sides! I can't wait!" He quickly began to scarf down the food in front of him violently.

Sideswipe held up a hand slightly, and chuckled. He'd nearly forgotten for a moment how excitable the young human tended to get. "Relax, kid. Take a breather." Sideswipe held up his energon slightly "In case you haven't noticed, I haven't even finished my energon yet." He then added very playfully "Did you take that medication you take for your ADHD, because you sure aren't acting like you did!"

"Mute it."

"When did you start using our lingo?"

"I've been hanging out with you too much." Mark chuckled, his eyes lifting as Prowl came in to dispose of his cube of energon "Prowl..."

The mech nodded to both of them, a curious optic moving between the two of them. He looked between the two of them for a moment, and then sighed. "You two have been talking about me, haven't you? Not another prank I hope." He looked at Sideswipe, who just shrugged with a mischievous grin "Try not to be _too _bad of an influence on the youngling, Sideswipe."

"We were just talking about his combat training. Stop being so paranoid." Sideswipe snorted.

"You're teaching him how to fight?" Prowl questioned, then glanced over at Mark "You're certainly one brave little sparkling." He chuckled evenly, tossing the empty energon cube into a Transformer-sized trash can "Try not to break our young charge, Sideswipe."

As Prowl left, Sideswipe made a slight mocking face at his back. Mark only chuckled, biting into his scrambled eggs yet again as he looked up at Sideswipe. "To be fair, you did almost let me break my arm last week." Mark laughed slightly at the comment, though Sideswipe didn't look amused "What? I still have the bruise where I hit that wall to prove it!"

"Now it's your turn to mute it."

The grin never left Mark's face.

...

"Still nothing, huh?"

Crosshairs turned as Hound made his way into the communications center. He frowned a little, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his helm in response. "You do know that you're not the leader anymore, right?" Hound rolled his optics a bit "And the short answer is no. We got some communications from First Aid, he's still making planetfall soon. But not a peep from Prime." He explained.

Hound nodded a bit, seating himself beside the mech quietly. His optics narrowed a bit as he leaned back. "I hope that nothing has happened to him n his absence." He noted calmly "I know that the chances of that are very low. But I worry about him Crosshairs. So much has changed just since he's been gone, I don't know if I can handle any more changes if something did happen."

"Tell me about it." Crosshairs shook his head "You're not the only worried one."

Hound nodded his head a little before staring quietly out the doorway as laughter filled the air. He took notice of Mark and Sideswipe making their way down the hallway, to who knows where. "That's music to my ears right now." He noted, putting his hands behind his back "He still hasn't been sleeping too well, but I've at least gotten that it's about other things out of him."

Crosshairs stared over at Hound. "It's only been a couple of months, can't expect him to be over all of this yet. That revelation still hit him pretty slagging hard." Hound nodded his head slowly in agreement "I still remember you not being able to recharge well for a year after Moonshift and Coldsteel..." He quickly noticed the warning look in Hound's optics "The point is, I warned you it wasn't going to be easy..."

"I'm aware..."

"SHHHH!"

As Crosshairs stood, Hound quickly caught on to what had gotten his attention. At first, as he turned the dial up on one of the machines, all Hound could hear was static. But then, the faint sounds, the voice, the soft baritone. _"Aut...Bots..." _Optimus's voice was only faint for a moment, but they'd know it anywhere _"Received... Transmission..."_ Both Autobots stared at each other in shock _"ETA... One month..."_

And then they completely lost the signal, yet the message had come loud and clear. "Prime's coming back!" Hound shouted, now on his feet himself as he rushed towards the door "PRIME RECIEVED OUR MESSAGE! He's on the return!" As he stepped into the hallway, the sound of several mechs, and one human boy rushing out echoed through the hall "One month! He's one month out!"

Hound could tell that Mark was a little lost in the excitement that shot through the Autobots. Though in his excitement, Sideswipe scooped the young human up and did a little circle around the hallway. "I never had a single doubt." Sideswipe chuckled "Someone should go inform Lennox and Epps, so they can warn the human officials."

As Sideswipe set him down, Mark jogged over to his guardian. The human saw the twinkle, and the gleem in his optics that signified the fact that this was, indeed a reason to celebrate. "That soon?" Mark asked, Hound nodded "Geez, that was quick..."

"He wasn't gone for long." Hound shook his head "Likely, he only traveled a month before stopping, wherever he did." Hound explained, carefully scooping the human up and lifting him to his normal perch on his shoulder "Your little "fanboy" friend might just get his wish to meet Prime yet." Mark laughed a little bit in response "Wouldn't be counting on any combat training today, though."

Mark nodded, he understood completely, of course. It was a reason to celebrate, after all, as this meant they stood more of a shot against Galvatron. And what's more, this meant the Autobots wouldn't be down their true leader, or one of their friends again. "Let's get through him meeting Mark before we even think about introducing him to the Kenny boy you don't even know." Crosshairs told Hound with a snort, stepping out of the room "But you know when Prowl's getting excited..." Mark noticed the smile on Prowl's face down the hall "That little work will be done today."

"You guys are acting like a bunch of little kids on Christmas morning."

"True." Hound chuckled "What do ye say, kid? Let's go make sure that information is relayed to the rest of NEST?" Mark nodded, and Hound turned towards "Alright, Crosshairs, you have my duties for a bit."

"Of course I do."

As Hound rushed down the hallway, Mark couldn't help but smile himself. It was good to see the somber tone the base usually had livened up. And what's more, it was nice to see the Autobots as excited as they were. Though of course, he had seen Hound as excited as he was now. "You know, I'm actually excited too." Hound turned, surprise in his optics "It's gonna be awesome to finally actually meet Optimus Prime."

"And you soon will, Mark." Hound replied proudly "Just you wait, it will be a fine day when you do."

Somehow, Mark didn't doubt Hound's words at all.

...

A/N: Though it was time to make it officially clear that Optimus will be coming back soon. :)


	22. A Day to Remember

**CHAPTER 22  
A Day to Remember **

The rest of the day was filled with excitement around the Autobot side of the base. While most of them went back to their work (mostly Prowl), others decided to enjoy a little high grade and enjoy themselves. Although, even though Mark all but begged them to have a beer, Hound had refused to let him drink with the rest of them. He supposed it was just as well, his father had never let him drink either, insisting he wait until he was twenty-one, even though most teenagers did drink (albeit illegally). Although it frustrated him, Mark had to remind himself that he wasn't going to be on Earth as long as they were, and Hound wanted him to live a long life. So he knew very well why Hound cared about his health enough to go out of his way to make him avoid smoking or drinking.

Watching Crosshairs, Sideswipe, and Mirage drunk however, more than made up for his disappointment. Currently, Crosshairs was slumped over Hound (who looked somewhat annoyed), talking about some old war story the two were involved with. While Sideswipe was babbling at Mirage, who only seemed interested in talking about himself, about battle strategies. Though Mirage's talk about himself was so incoherent Mark could barely tell what he was saying. But he was not alone in his amusement, as the smallest of the Autobots, who he had only talked to a few times, Brains, had joined him on the couch in the Autobots relaxation room.

"Are they always this bad when they're... Is it drunk?" Mark asked.

"Oh yeah, it's truly a sight kid." The former Decepticon drone chuckled "You should see your new old mech when he's hammered, it's even better." Mark laughed a little, a part of him wishing he could see that, and another part not wanting to "Me, this is why I don't do high grade, it just makes a mech do stupid slag."

As if on cue, Crosshairs looked up with an unamused glance. "'Ey! I'm not drunk, just tipsy."

Hound patted his good friend on the shoulder with a deep chuckle as he stood. Mark almost wished he had a camera at the moment, as Crosshairs crashed onto the Transformer-sized couch they were sitting on. "Yep, totally sober." Hound laughed lightly "Primus, yer all a bunch of lightweights, I had plenty to drink and I don't even have a buzz yet."

Mark shook his head, and laughed lightly. He wasn't sure if he was impressed by Hound's statement, or a little worried. Yet the mech merely gave a hardy laugh that made his loose plating jiggle a little. "Don't worry younglin', I don't drink often." Mark nodded his head, chuckling a little "And you fragging well better believe if I get drunk it won't be around ye. I'm afraid of the blackmail you'd have on me."

Brains nudged Mark for a moment. "All the more reason to get him to drink more, eh kid?"

"Don't encourage him." Hound frowned "Primus knows that Sideswipe encourages his mischievous side more than enough." He chuckled lightly.

As if on cue, Sideswipe slapped his knee in response, trying to look serious. But Mark noticed quite quickly that he was failing at that, especially when he began to talk. "I will have you know Hound that I am an _excellent _role model!" He said loudly and proudly, though very slurred "I was even thinking I should be his caretaker instead of you!"

Even in his intoxicated state, Mirage gave an amused snort and laughed. "Sideswipe, mon ami, the world is certainly not ready for the sparkling you would raise." He said with more laughter.

Sideswipe gave a pout in his friend's direction, though Mark couldn't help but laugh himself. There was no way that Sideswipe was father material, right now at least. As he understood, he wasn't too much older than Bumblebee, who was in his early twenties, and that was far from the right time for someone like them to have sparklings. "Sorry, Sideswipe, but whether you're a good one or not, this little piston is all mine." Mark found an arm around his shoulder, staring up to find Hound's holoform beside him "What do ye say, kiddo? You had enough of this little exercise in drinking?"

"You two are gonna bail already?" Brains questioned as Mark got off the couch and approached Hound's real form "What a buzzkill, I was five seconds away from convincin' him kid, you know that, dontcha?" Mark laughed off the small mech a little as the two left "Well shucks, didn't even invite me with 'em. I see how it is." He added.

Mark chuckled a little as he and Hound exited the room and made their way into the hallway. He crossed his arms, and gave a shake of his head. "You guys are crazy when you start drinking." Mark finally spoke up "I was almost sure that Crosshairs was hitting on you in there." Hound snorted a little at that "So where are we going?" He asked.

Hound shook his head, starting towards the staircase and up towards the roof again. Mark grinned, if there was one thing he'd never complain about doing, it was definitely doing some star gazing. Once they had made their way onto the roof, Mark took his usual perch on top of a large (closed) vent opening. "Just think..." Hound began quietly "In just a few weeks we'll be out here, awaiting Optimus's return." He shook his head, a grin on his face "It's about time too, I've missed the mech way too much."

"The way you talk about him, you must have been close." Mark replied.

Hound nodded in confirmation as he took out one of his "cigars" and placed it in his mouth. He grinned widely and placed his hands on his hips before turning his gaze to his charge. "My caretaker worked very closely with his, so we grew up together." Hound explained "We were thick as thieves, him, Ironhide, and I." He added with a wry grin.

"Who's Ironhide?"

"My foster brother..." Hound explained "He passed into the Well just before the Battle of Chicago. I try not to talk about it too much." He looked at the boy "It's a shame you never got to meet him. He would've gotten a kick outta you."

"You know, I still don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

"You guys are robots, right?" Mark began "Can't you just be rebuilt? How can you even die?"

Hound looked calmly at his charge, and after a moment, lifted him up before softly opening his spark chamber. Mark had heard about sparks before, particularly when he talked about the bond, but it could not prepare him for the beautiful sight of the blue energy inside Hound's chest. "That's why, Mark. Our sparks are much like a human heart... And soul." Hound explained politely "If you destroy it, there is no coming back, there is no being rebuilt, you can rebuild the shell easily, but your spark is _you_. Without it, yer nothing more than a drone." He noted, his optics filling with sadness.

"So his spark was... Extinguished?"

"As I understand it, he was shot with a cannon that ate every inch of him away." Hound's voice seemed to become distant as he finished the sentence "I'm thankful I was never around to witness his execution himself." He shook his head, seating Mark on one of his kneecaps "Yer uncle meant a lot to me, especially after our caretaker died."

Mark nodded, though it took him a moment to register the use of the words "yer uncle". "Well then, just be careful not to let anyone hit you in the spark. I'm not sure I could handle something like that."

"There are few reasons I would ever allow that to happen."

Though he didn't say it out loud, Mark was given the distinct feeling that one of the reasons would be protecting him. If the way he said it hadn't given it away, the way Hound had looked at him when he said it did. "Do you think they go out there somewhere?" Mark asked, looking out to the stars "My dad... Your family..." He trailed off a little.

"They're all out there. In the Well of Allsparks, and your Heaven. That much I am certain." Hound then added "And in other ways they remain with us. Watching over us, looking after us." He paused "Or so I like to believe. Sometimes I'll swear that I hear my bonded's laugh, or Coldsteel's giggle." He commented, his voice now trailing off a little as well.

"Sometimes if I really concentrate... I'd swear I still hear my dad gently scolding me when I do something stupid."

"Are you sure that isn't Prowl?"

An amused snort escaped the fourteen year old as he smacked the mech's knee gently. Hound carefully trailed his fingers along Mark's head of hair, looking thoughtfully out to the stars. "I don't think I've said this before..." Mark spoke thoughtfully "But I'm glad you found me that day, in town." Hound stared down at him with a cocked optic ridge "I don't even know where I'd be right now if I was still out there." He then added "Instead I get this awesome life." He added.

Hound smiled a little at that, leaning back against the vent. He rested his hand on the floor of the roof, he rested his eyes on the boy. "I'm glad I found ye too. I was lonely for a long time before ye came around." He explained "As Crosshairs would put it in his own smart-aft way, I needed something to take care of that _wasn't _my extensive gun collection."

"You still do that, though. You polish those things like five times a day."

Hound gave Mark a gentle jab to the ribs in response to that, with a faux-stern look in his optics. "They gotta look good. I mean, I could polish _you _if you'd like, but I can't imagine you'd like it much." Mark chuckled a little at that as well "I'm also almost certain that it would be considered some form of child abuse." That one earned an eye roll.

"I think I'm good, big guy."

As Mark got away from the conversation to look at the stars in wonderment, Hound sighed. He wished they could just have more nights like this, of fun with the others, and time alone on the roof. Oh how he wished, and prayed for peace time during which he didn't have to worry about Decepticons, or the war. But even with all the excitement of the day, he knew that tomorrow he'd be back in the fight again. But he would none-the-less still long to keep things like this, so peaceful and tranquil.

Caught up in the moment, Hound closed his optics, and finally spoke the words that had previously escaped him. "I love you, Mark."

It took Mark a long time to register what Hound had said to him. He'd longed for it for some time, that much he couldn't deny. But to actually hear it almost seemed like a pipe dream up until that exact moment. Meanwhile, Hound had opened his optics, and seemed to patiently wait for his answer. It took Mark quite a while to finally reply, but he finally patted the side of the mech's arm and smiled. "I love you too, Hound."

It was only after he had said the words that he really realized how far he'd come from when they'd first met. Back when he couldn't imagine trusting anyone again, let alone loving anyone like a father again. Yet as he looked up at the mech he sat with, he saw the look in his optics, and recognized it. The softness, the fondness, and the love that radiated from them and their bond was all the assurance he needed that he made the right choice. "We should probably go back inside." Mark said as he noticed the time on his watch "Isn't it bedtime, or whatever?"

Hound looked thoughtful, but only smiled a little. "I think that we can forgo your bedtime for a day of celebration like this." Hound explained politely "Now, where did I leave off with my last batch of stories? Had we hit the Battle of Tyger Pax yet?"

"I think you'd just started."

And they both settled there under the stars for yet another story, for the first time in a while, without a care in the world.

...

A/N: I thought since there has been a very serious group of chapters lately, it was time for a purely fluff and humor chapter. :) Hope you guys enjoyed!


	23. Flirtations and Rides

A/N: I know I've said this a lot. But the feedback you guys have given me just makes my day! I love seeing all the reviews, favorites, and alerts I've been getting. It really makes me feel happy knowing that my writing is being enjoyed so much. :) I just can't thank you guys enough for your continued support of this story. :)

Guest: Sadly, as much as I love Ratchet, he's dead in this story. Everyone who died in the movies is gone. Which is why I'm bringing in First Aid.

...

**CHAPTER 23  
Flirtations and Rides**

Mark was having a very bad day, and it had hardly even started. Perhaps, it was just because of his exhaustion, considering he'd been awakened in the early hours of the morning by another incident of the Dinobots trying to go rogue. But if it wasn't it didn't change the fact that he had barely dragged himself out of bed that morning to take the half an hour ride to school. If it weren't that, it might have been the fact that he'd been assigned two papers in place of final exams, which were coming in close to three weeks. But either way, he was frustrated, and most of all, he was ready for the day to be over. He sighed quietly, closing his locker as he prepared for third period math.

As he turned around, he bumped into a young girl, nearly jumping as books toppled. "I am so sorry!" Mark shouted "I didn't see you coming, and I'm tired as hell." He crouched down, beginning to pick up the figures books "I'm so clumsy sometimes, I can't even..."

As Mark stood handing the books over, his face paled. It was the Maria girl, the one that he'd already walked into once before. And to say that he was embarrassed by the fact that this was the second time in a row was an understatement. "You know, if you just wanted to talk to me, you could use a new approach." Maria teased playfully "It's fine, really. I get it." She explained.

Mark smiled a little bit, trying to catch himself. "Is that a bit of an accent I hear? Sounds... Italian maybe?" He questioned.

"Good catch." Maria replied with a bit of a smile "Most people don't really notice it much. It's kinda repressed, even though it comes out sometimes. It's mostly on my fatha's side of the family though." She nearly covered her mouth at the pronunciation of "father" "You know, like that." She laughed.

Mark gave a small chuckle, though he was visibly nervous. She was actually talking to him, _him_. He definitely wasn't expecting this after what Tessa had said about her popularity. "I guess I should kinda introduce myself in case this happens again." He held out a hand slowly "I'm Mark..." He introduced himself.

"Maria." She took his hand and shook it.

"Yeah, I kinda know. You're friends with my buddy, Tessa, right?"

Maria nodded her head, smiling a little and tilting her head. "Yeah, you could say that, we were closer when we were younger though. She has two years on me now, and it's high school, so." She shrugged her shoulders a little bit "Hey, I couldn't figure it out when we ran into each other before, but now I know where I know you from... The newspapers. You're the son of that Savoy guy, right? The one they found hiding out there?" She asked.

Mark froze up, unsure of how to respond to that. Would it weird her out? "Y-Yeah... I didn't realize that made the papers." Mark paused a minute "But I guess with the whole Decepticon attack thing it would." He shrugged his shoulders slightly "But yeah, short answer, that was me." He explained.

"Yeah, what was up with that?"

Mark hesitated, he thought most everyone in the school knew by now. Didn't rumors travel fast in small towns? He sighed a bit, and leaned against the lockers. "I had been living with the Autobots... I kinda still am." He could see her eyes visibly widen at that "Yeah, I know, I get that a lot. That look or, "holy crap, your dad's an Autobot!?"." He laughed a little "Most people find it weird."

"I actually think that's pretty awesome. Do they really turn into cars and all of that?" Mark nodded his head, stunned at the fact that she hadn't been weirded out, and rather was still talking to him "You know, just between you and me, since I know a lot of people are on the fence about them... I always thought the Autobots were really cool, even after Chicago." She admitted "What that Cemetery Wind group did was pretty..." She thought about it "Oh, sorry, I almost forgot."

"It's okay, what my dad did was _disgusting_." Mark told her bluntly.

Mark nearly jumped out of his skin as the bell rang, signaling classes. Maria rolled her eyes slightly, and sighed. "Well, that's my cue to get my butt to third period English before I get marked tardy again." She smiled "We should hang out some time." She commented, he was surprised as she took out a marker from her backpack and took his hand "You got a cell?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Good, here's my number." She wrote along his hand with the marker before smiling "Call me sometime."

And with that, Maria was off and walking down the hallway, towards her class. Mark could only stand there, first staring after the girl, then down at his hand for a long moment. Was she asking him to ask her out? He doubted it, and in a way, he was thankful, as he wasn't sure that he was ready for a "relationship" yet. But still, she'd given him her number, she wanted him to call her. If anything, he had to admit that it was a start. "Score!" He found Kenny's hand going around his shoulders as he also started off to his own class "Dude, that was awesome! She totally just hit on you."

"Ken, I really don't think she was-."

"Sure, sure." Kenny rolled his eyes "Be modest about it. She _was_." He insisted "Bask in the glory of it for a little while, you have tasted the forbidden fruit that is... Older women."

Mark couldn't help but at least grin a little, even if he didn't believe it himself.

...

"Me Grimlock want know what you Mark doing."

Mark nearly jumped out of his skin as the massive t-rex appeared over his shoulder. He'd gotten used to it by now at least, Grimlock was far from a subtle mech. But every so often, the booming voice still scared him out of his mind. Quickly, he hid his phone slightly, blushing. He quietly hoped that no one had heard him, but since they were in the Autobots relaxation wing he doubted it. "Nothing, Grim, just... Uh..." Mark shook his head "Talking to a girl."

The giant t-rex tilted his head, as if not quite understanding. "Mmmm. Mark have femme?" Grimlock questioned "Me Grimlock meet you Mark's femme. Me Grimlock no want her femme hurting you Mark." He commented.

Mark made a mental note that whenever, if ever, he brought over Maria, Grimlock was not allowed to meet her. He could only imagine what the overly possessive and brutish dinosaur would do if she didn't meet his standards. "It's not like that, Grimlock. She's just a girl I met at school." He replied, shifting uncomfortably "I don't even think she likes me like that."

"Me Grimlock say if she femme no like you Mark, you Mark should eat her femme."

Mark wondered if it was meant as a poor attempt at a joke or not, yet still chuckled quietly. He looked over as the Dinobot waved his tail back and forth in an almost dog-like way. "Grimlock, I'm not going to become a cannibal over that stuff." He commented, starting to walk "And besides, I'm not ready for a relationship yet. Maybe later but..." Without warning, he found Grimlock's nose moving underneath him, and then lifting him up "WHOA! WHOA! Grimlock, what are you doing?" He asked.

"You Mark walk too slow. Me Grimlock give ride."

Mark shook his head, well he _had _expressed his desire to ride a Dinobot before. But now that he looked down, he couldn't help but gulp, as it was a long way down from the smooth top of Grimlock's head. "Uhhhhh Grimlock, that's a longgggg way down." Mark commented "Are you sure this is, y'know, safe?" He asked.

"Me Grimlock no let you Mark fall." Grimlock noted "Me Grimlock transform if you Mark fall. Me Grimlock catch you Mark."

Mark sighed in relief, thankful that despite the way he talked, Grimlock seemed intelligent enough. Sucking in his fear, he took in the pure awesomeness of the situation now. He was living his childhood dream of riding a dinosaur, well, a robotic one, but a dinosaur all the same. Of course, as soon as he was able to suck in his fear and take in the world a hundred feet high, his excitement ended. "Markus Franklin Savoy, what on EARTH are you doing?" Mark looked down over Grimlock's head, noticing as Hound approached, signifying they were in the main hangar now "I told you that you're not allowed to ride them!"

"Chill, Hound." Mark shouted down "Grimlock said he won't let me get hurt, besides. This is AWESOME!" He then added "What did you want me to do when he pulled his head up with me on it? Say no?" Even from so high up, he could see the unamused look that plastered Hound's face "Come on, just ten more minutes!" He added.

Grimlock gave a snort, his optics looking up at his passenger. "Him human so foolish." Grimlock then added "Me Grimlock like foolish human. You Hound let me keep foolish human?" He added.

Hound crossed his arms slightly, and shook his head. "I'm afraid that "foolish human" belongs to me, Grimlock." He told him politely, with the "foolish human" part said in a loving way "And I'd appreciate it if you'd bring the "foolish human" back to the ground. You're giving me a spark attack just having him up that high." He added.

After a moment of though, Grimlock nodded. "Mmmmkay. Me Grimlock let him Mark down."

Mark almost groaned a little, though he repressed it as Grimlock lowered his head, allowing him to climb down. "Thanks for the ride, buddy." Mark chuckled a bit "It was pretty awesome even though it was short." Grimlock lifted his head, but didn't offer a "you're welcome" as Mark looked up at Hound "And come on, see, I'm fine." He added.

"Me Grimlock bored now." Grimlock spoke up "Me Grimlock go find Scorn. Me Grimlock make him Scorn play "chase the human" with me Grimlock."

Mark wasn't sure that he wanted to know which human they would be chasing, or what else the game entailed. Yet before he could ask, Grimlock was off, clearly distracted by the idea of playing the game. However dangerous and stupid it probably was. "I guess it did at least look fun." Hound muttered "Just don't tell Prowl about it, he'll tan my hide." He added.

"Tell me what?" Prowl asked as he entered the main hangar.

"Uh, nothing." Mark rubbed the back of his neck "Everything okay, Prowl? You look kinda tense."

Prowl shook his head a bit, and crossed his arms before looking at Hound. "Gather up Crosshairs and Sideswipe, we're leaving in ten minutes." Hound raised an optic ridge "There's been a spike in activity just outside of DC. We're worried with this many signatures, an attack is imminent." He then added "So don't waste a second." He explained.

"Right." Hound nodded as Prowl transformed and drove back towards the human side of the base "Stay out of trouble while I'm gone, will you? I don't want to come back from this with you in the med bay." He noted jokingly.

"Scouts honor." Mark replied as Hound made his way past him "Stay safe, Hound."

"I will." Hound replied "Love ye, bitlet." He added, now that he knew it was a safe statement to make.

"Love you too."

As Hound rushed off to find the others, Mark only smirked a little. He almost felt bad that he had said that, considering he'd never been in the scouts. Turning to walk off towards where Grimlock was. "Hey Grimlock! How does a game like that work!?" He shouted.

"Ahem." Hound noted "Heard that."

Mark rolled his eyes, starting off towards where his bedroom was in a half-sulk. Hound only rolled his optics, chuckling. "What am I going to do with you?" He asked quietly.

He only allowed himself to dwell on things a moment more, knowing they had much bigger things to worry about right now. Without another look back, he continued off towards where he knew he would find his comrades.

...

A/N: I know, sort of another filler chapter. Just wanted to move the whole thing with Mark/Maria forward, and get Grimlock back in there though. :) But don't worry, action's coming next chapter when they hit DC! :D


	24. Emergency Situation

**CHAPTER 24  
Emergency Situation**

Washington DC was a mess and a half when they arrived, and that was putting it mildly. Hound had never seen the battle pre-Chicago, or even Chicago for that matter, but he suspected it to be a smaller version of the former. He did not know how the Decepticons had gotten their hands on Vehicon drones in such a short amount of time, yet the drones were quickly creating chaos while Galvatron seemed to be nowhere in sight. Transforming somewhere near where they had entered the city, he brought out a riffle and quickly shot off the head of one drone as Crosshairs followed him in, kicking another two away.

Hound stared around, his optics searching, without much luck, for any sign of the main Decepticons on the loose themselves. "I don't like this." Hound noted as he offiined yet another drone "Something about this doesn't feel right, where the slag are the actual Decepticons?" He stared around, grabbing one of his larger guns "Crosshairs, cover me."

No sooner had Hound said that that the sound of roaring engines sounded out. His optics shot up, and he snarled slightly at an unwelcome sight: Cyclonus. He leapt through the air violently, barely dodging the bullets of the low flying jet in time to grab hold of him. "Hound you crazy son of a gun!" Crosshairs shouted "What the slag are you doing!?"

Hound wasn't even sure how to answer the question as Cyclonus flew violently through the air. Hound smashed his fist into the makeshift cockpit violently, growling low. He could hear a return growl from his opponent as they collided with one of the buildings and Cyclonus forced himself to transform as they slid across the rooftop. Hound groaned, pulling himself to his feet as Cyclonus did the same, the two of them standing on opposite sides of the rooftop. "What the FRAG is your problem Autoscum!?" Cyclonus shrieked.

Hound turned and fired multiple shots at Cyclonus, rushing at him with a violent blow to his face. Cyclonus didn't look too happy, but then again, Hound wasn't a happy camper either. "I should rip your fragging head off of your shoulder." Hound told him darkly "You tried to kill my sparkling.. You tried to blow him the frag _up_!" Cyclonus swung one of his hefty swords for Hound "You think it's okay? Killing kids?"

The next blast of his gun landed itself into Cyclonus's abdomen. He was next met with a punch to the gut, and a kick to the back. "Even as a mech of honor, I cannot control rage. You humiliated me mere minutes after my arrival." Cyclonus's optics shot up "All of this for a human? For "your sparkling"." Cyclonus spat "You're pathetic to claim such an insignificant little pion in the universe as your sparkling."

Hound took cautionary steps forward, and placed his foot against his back. "Then why are you in DC? His hometown?" He questioned, crouching down a bit "I only seen drones here other than you. If you think you're going to find him, then you've got another thing coming." He stated, putting a gun against his temple as Cyclonus chuckled lightly "What's so funny?"

"You think we _care_ about that thing?" Cyclonus laughed coldly, kicking Hound's feet out from under him "You Autobots really are daft and blind. I could care less about your pathetic little pet human." He added bluntly as he stepped over Hound "This is simply our way of showing the world we are **back**." He added, throwing up his arms "Though it's nice to know he lived, maybe we can have a little fun with him eventually." Hound slowly pulled himself to his feet "I do admit that I like seeing this real fight in you."

As Hound threw a punch, Cyclonus caught it. Watching down bellow before thrusting himself and Hound over the edge of the building, where they landed with a loud THUD! Around him, Hound saw chaos, with multiple Autobots trying their best to combat the Vehicons, though they seemed vastly outnumbered. "If you touch him again." Hound grunted as he pulled himself to his feet "I will tear you apart." He then added "And if he has nothing to do with what Galvatron's planning, then what the slag are you up to?"

Cyclonus laughed a little, bringing out his second blade. "Wouldn't you _love _to know that? I could tell you what we're planning, but then I'd kill the suspense." Hound got to his feet, but without warning, felt a blade go straight through the left of his chest as he SHRIEKED "For now, why don't we just call us even, shall we?" He questioned, ripping out the blade, and then stabbing him deep in the other chest "Hurts, doesn't it?"

Hound groaned quietly as the blade slid out and he fell to the ground. It wouldn't have been such a disastrous blow, of course, if it hadn't been just above the spark chamber. Right through one of his cables, or so he guessed from the energon trickling down his metal body. The world grew quiet as he watched Cyclonus take off in the air, and could see a few more explosions. After a moment, Crosshairs appeared over him. "SLAGGIT!" He saw him mouth "When was First Aid coming again!? Today right!? WHEN TODAY!?"

"C-Crosshairs." He sputtered "The humans."

"We turned most of the Vehicons to scrap metal. But Cyclonus took off." He faintly made out as Crosshairs tried to keep pressure on his wound "Don't you fraggin' dare go into stasis lock, don't you _dare_." He shouted loudly, though it only seemed like a whisper to Hound "You've got a boy who's waiting for his guardian to come home, Hound. You can't let him down..." He added frantically.

But Hound could feel his systems shutting down, and stasis lock setting in. He couldn't fight it anymore, if First Aid hadn't yet arrived that day, then he was screwed, this was it. _I am **SO **sorry Mark... _He sent through the bond, as quickly as he could.

Seconds later, his world collapsed into darkness.

...

"Where is he!?"

Before Mark had even made his way to Hound, who was being carried in "critical condition" towards the medical bay, arms swooped him up. He beat violently at Crosshairs holoform, trying to push forward even as the tall mech held him back. "Get off of me Crosshairs! I heard the apology through the bond! Is he okay!? Is Hound okay!?" He asked loudly "What happened!?"

Crosshairs held the boy firmly, pushing him back just a little. "I'm not gonna lie was hurt really bad, kid." Mark's eyes watered slightly "That slagger Cyclonus barely missed his spark. If he had just hit an inch closer, he wouldn't even be alive right now..." Mark could feel tears overcoming him "Mark, Mark, get a hold of yourself, it's gonna be okay." He then added "Did the newest arrival, First Aid, land yet?"

Mark nodded his head vigorously, recalling that the other members of NEST had gone to greet him (with Bumblebee, who had stayed behind). Crosshairs sighed in relief, and quickly brought up his comm link to try and get a hold of Bumblebee and debrief him on the situation. Something that Mark took advantage of in order to bolt for the med bay doors. "Mark!" Mark turned his head to see Will approaching "I'm gonna need you to stay away from the med bay-."

"That's my foster dad in there!" Mark shook his head "I need to know he's okay!"

And that's when he saw him, he saw Hound lying on a massive stretcher. Energon leaking from his almost anywhere, it was a sight that broke him, his knees going weak as Will's arms wrapped around him. Perhaps it was fatherly instinct, but Will didn't let Mark run further as he sobbed quietly. "I can't lose him too." Mark muttered, becoming hysterical "He's not supposed to go down like that. They can't die unless their spark goes out, right?" Mark asked hoarsely.

"Cyclonus hit a cable that connects to his spark." Drift, who was nearby, explained "If we can't fix that, then it's only a matter of hours before his spark shuts down." Mark seemed to tremble in the Colonel's grip "Lennox, you should get him out of here. The last thing he needs is to bare witness to all of this." He tried to encourage, nodding off towards the direction of the Autobots side.

"But-!"

"C'mon kid." Lennox nodded "He's right. He'll be okay, but we need to give them time."

Mark was a mess as Lennox carefully led him away, trying his best to console the boy. Drift turned to Crosshairs with a look that screamed "worry" in his optics, shaking his head. "Are they on their way, yet?" Drift questioned, Crosshairs nodded "Good, because I am uncertain how long we can keep Markus in the dark..." He explained "It pains me to see him like that."

"He'll be alright." Crosshairs assured "Because I know Hound, and he's not going down, not like this." He shook his head, crossing his arms and his optics narrowing "That mech has had even closer calls than this. And besides, with First Aid here... Well, at least we stand a chance."

As it turned out, "here" was four hours from the base. In that time, Doctor Filter tried to stabilize him, and had managed to buy him another two hours more. Around the third hour of their waiting for First Aid, Mark joined the rest of the Autobots outside the med bay. As the group had given up trying in vain to keep him outside of the area. Instead, the boy, who had only somewhat calmed down stood by the window, glancing in at Hound, who laid on a medical berth. "Mark..." Mark turned his head towards Sideswipe as he approached from behind "He's a tough mech, trust me on this one."

"What happens if he doesn't wake up...?" Mark asked "I've already lost my dad, I can't... I can't lose another one." He explained, his voice cracking "I can't be alone again, Sides. And I don't know if I can get through losing something like this twice either."

A hand was set on his shoulder, and after a moment, he looked up to see Sideswipe's holoform. The mech, who appeared twenty-eight, with red hair, and a casual vibe to his clothing gave a soothing smile down at him. "Nothing's gonna happen to you." Sideswipe replied "You're family to us now, and we are not going to let anything happen to you." He then added "But you won't have to worry about anything, because he's going to be okay..."

Mark's ears perked up as an ambulance siren sounded out. The entire group turned as a Cybertronian-style ambulance drove into base in a hurry, transforming up before their very eyes. The red and white mech that stood in front of them looked frantic, his blue optics staring around. "I'm barely on Earth an hour and I have to get that call." The mech, who Mark guessed was First Aid, spoke up "Where is he?"

"Through that door. He's fading fast though." Crosshairs nodded "You're gonna have to work fast."

"Alright." First Aid nodded his head slowly, his optics scanning around "Drift, I'm gonna need some help, come in with me." He nodded at Drift.

Mark watched as, without another word, the medic quickly entered the med bay. His breathing labored, and his grip on his pants tightened. Would Hound make it? Were they too late? He closed his eyes silently as he tried with everything he had to calm himself down. He took a deep breath, it was in the hands of Primus, and God, now he figured. And all he could do was hope and pray for the best.


	25. Bold Moves and Reminders

**CHAPTER 25  
Bold Moves and Reminders**

"He's going to be okay..."

Mark nearly fell to his knees in relief as the medic, First Aid, stepped outside of the med bay a few hours later . He could feel Sideswipe's hand on his back, rubbing it gently. First Aid stared down at Mark for a moment, his optics twisting in recognition. "You must be the Mark I was told of, then?" Mark nodded his head "Nice to meetcha kid, you probably already figured out I'm First Aid." Another timid nod "Your old mech is going to be A-Okay, though he'll be in stasis lock for the next two days." He added.

"Is that normal?" Mark asked in confusion.

"After losing one of his energon lines like that? He's lucky he's pulling through at all." First Aid shook his head a bit "He's tough as pit though, I kept thinking I was going to lose him."

"And you almost did." Mark turned his head towards Coulton as he approached them slowly "And you, my good Autobot friends." He ignored the scowl that most of the group, with the exception of First Aid, had on their face at the word "friend" "Because that would leave young Mr. Savoy without a guardian for two days. And I'm no expert on the foster care system, but I don't think that's going to fly well with them."

The first reaction that got out of the Autobots was Sideswipe who rolled in front of Mark protectively. Coulton had to take a few steps back as Sideswipe brought out one of his blades, a dark growl emitting from his systems. "He's got seven temporary guardians right here." Sidseswipe told him bluntly "You wanna call Dana up and try and get him taken away from us? Go ahead and try. I'll..."

Prowl held up a hand, carefully trying to calm Sideswipe down. "As I understand it..." Prowl began quietly "Markus's affairs are handled by Hound, and by his social worker, Dana Walsh." He then added "You have no right to kick Markus off this base. And I will need a solid reason to hand over someone who is under direct guardianship of one of my mechs."

"Luckily, I called her."

Mark watched as Dana entered, looking around the side of Sideswipe's leg. "I'm sorry, guys. You know I support this, I have ever since I knew Hound was serious." She explained, shaking her head "But I'm afraid that Mr. Coulton is right. Without a legally registered foster parent on-base who is... Not in a catatonic state. We can't keep him here."

"And he told you there wasn't one?"

Dana turned around, noticing Lennox was standing behind her. She frowned slightly, and nodded her head. "Well, that's funny." Lennox chuckled "Because I told Coulton that Hound and I had worked this out. My wife and I just renewed our foster parenting licenses over this past summer." He watched Coulton's face visibly fall "William and Sarah Lennox, you can look up the file and everything. I'll help the 'Bots take care of him until Hound is back online."

"Give me one moment."

As Dana left, Mark felt relief fill every pour of his body. "Colonel Lennox, you cannot be serious!" Coulton demanded "I can't be the only one who thinks that his reaction today proves the boy should have never come here in the first place." He added coldly "We're in a war, we can't have a child breaking down every time his friends get a booboo on base."

"What that proved is that he has a _heart_." Lennox snapped back "Mark and Hound have a deeper bond than you'd ever understand. I should know because I lived with an Autobot under my roof for a good five years." He cringed, thinking back on Ironhide "And his and Hound's is even deeper than mine and Ironhide's, because whether you like it or not, Hound is his dad now."

Coulton didn't waver in his harsh glare at Lennox, but lucky for the others, Lennox didn't waver either. "Colonel Lennox?" Lennox turned his head as Dana walked back "You check out. I'll let my superiors know that Markus is in your temporary custody until Hound is out of his comatose state." Lennox nodded his head "Can you come and sign some paperwork for me, please?"

"Sure thing."

As Will left, the Auotobots were left facing Coulton, whose face appeared to be red as a tomato. He shook his head a little bit, pointing towards Mark. "You must think you're really tough now, hiding behind your robot buddies. You don't belong here, none of you do." Coulton told them very bluntly "And like it or not, that's never going to change."

As Coulton stormed off, Sideswipe turned to Prowl. "Can I just cut off his smug head?" He asked with a scoff "I'd really like to put it up on a post and let the rest of the prejudice fraggers-."

"Sideswipe, calm yourself." Prowl replied calmly "If he heard that who knows how he could turn _that _against us." He explained as Sideswipe stood straight, and retracted his sword, grumbling under his breath "Mark, why don't you go off and do some homework." Mark frowned a bit "Hound won't be waking up early, and until Coulton is off-base again, I don't want you near him." He then added "I don't trust that man worth slag."

Mark looked ready to argue, but caught Prowl's look. This wasn't a "just in case", he was seriously worried Coulton might try something. "Alright... Alright, I guess so..." Mark looked through the window again, a small frown "You promise you'll let me know if he does wake up? Even a little bit?" He asked.

"We'll call you in if anything changes." Prowl nodded "Sideswipe, see to it he gets to his room safely."

With a small salute from Sideswipe the two were off towards Mark's room. After a long period of silence, First Aid crossed his arms. "I haven't been on Earth long. But am I the only one who doesn't trust that Coulton man one bit?" He questioned.

He knew by the look in the others optics, he was only one of many.

...

That evening, Mark visited his dad. Whether it be in the form of a stress-induced dream or not, that night he was on a bench in a park near their house in Washington, DC. At the end of the bench, his father sat, with a suit and tie on and his dark sunglasses covering his eyes. "You disappointed me, Mark." James Savoy removed his sunglasses from his face "How can you trust these mechs? Even begin to mourn over the possible death of one? Did you see what they did to DC?"

Mark was almost taken aback by the tone to his father's voice. "This isn't real, you're dead." Mark replied, his voice stammering a little "I don't live in DC anymore, I live in Texas." The man frowned a little "And I definitely don't need to listen to this from a figment of my imagination."

As Mark stood from the bench, he felt a force push him down. Savoy laughed a little at his son, but it was a deep, wicked chuckle. One he had never, and would never give in front of him in real life. Suddenly, he was upon him, putting his hands around Mark's throat. "TRAITOR!" Mark knew it was a dream now as he was trying to strangle him "You're nothing more than a traitor to your kind, Mark!" His face now warped, and changed into another familiar face - Coulton "TRAITOR!"

He didn't get much further than that before he was sitting bolt upright in bed. Sweat dripped down his face as he breathed in and out, trying to catch his breath. It had only been a dream, another stupid dream, yet he still couldn't help but feel shaken. He laid back on the bed, staring over at the clock, which blinked four-thirty AM at him. He sighed, hearing the sound of activity outside his room as the Autobots made seemingly made their way out of recharge, as they normally would around this time.

He sighed quietly, opening up the drawer of his nightstand and dragging the picture of himself and his dad out. Why was his dad still haunting his dreams? Why couldn't he move past the fact of what his father did, let alone how disappointed he may have been in him. He jumped as he heard the door creak open, and looked up to see Crosshairs standing in the doorway. "You okay in here?" He asked with a raised optic ridge "You were making a whole lot of noise in here."

Mark shuddered, did he talk in his sleep? Had he screamed? Either way, for some reason, it bothered him. "I just had a nightmare... About my dad." Mark replied, shaking his head "I guess after what happened to Hound I just... It dug up old wounds, or whatever." He explained, taking a deep, inward breath "It's nothing, I'll probably just go to bed."

Crosshairs frowned a bit, looking over Mark's statistics. Sure enough, he found elevated levels of stress inside the boy. For a moment, he moved to exit, but slowly stopped himself in his tracks. "Hound's alright, Mark. If you're still worried about that, don't be silly." Mark frowned a bit, and nodded in response "Or are you bothered more by the reminder of... Your other father?"

Mark didn't know how to respond without risking making himself look bad. "My other dad..." Mark nodded his head, frowning a little "I know, he was a jerk and all outside of around me. But still... When we almost lost Hound yesterday, it reminded me of what I went through back then too." He ran a finger over the picture a bit "And it sucked."

"I know, sucked for all of us. He scared everyone." Mark nodded his head at Crosshairs's notion "But as for having to relive that, I am sorry for that. No one should have to live through it twice." He then added "Is there anything I can do to make you... I don't know, feel better?"

"Are you going soft, 'Hairs?"

Crosshairs snorted a little, looking to the side at that. "Don't make a big deal out of it. I just... Like you is all." He stated flatly "He's my best friend too, so I figure I know how this feels more than the others." He shrugged his shoulders a little "So is there anything, or...?"

"I'm fine."

Crosshairs knew that Mark was being stubborn, but he only sighed. He knew of all mechs, he wouldn't be able to crack that stubbornness. "Right, I forget sometimes that you're a tough little bugger." Mark gave a little smile at that "Which is why I know your gonna be just fine, kid. So don't let it shake you up too much..." He then added "Got it?"

"Yes sir."

As Crosshairs exited, Mark carefully opened up the drawer again, and prepared to set the picture back inside. Yet, he stopped halfway, slowly reaching over to the nightstand and setting it on top. Maybe, just for the remainder of that night, he could use the smiling faces that stared back at him through the frame.


	26. Catching Up and a Surprise

A/N: So, it has come to my attention that Tessa WAS stated as graduating in two weeks in the film. Oops. I thought that it was never stated how close she was to it. So oh well, easy fix here. We'll just say that AOE took place four months earlier than it did in the actual movie here. Not enough to say it's an AU as literally everything else is the same and happened as it did, but it's a little hard to go and rewrite everything over this small detail. XD

Also I'm finally giving the name of the town Cade lives in a name: Fullton. If it does have a name and I missed that bit too, feel free to tell me.

...

**CHAPTER 26  
Catching Up and a Surprise**

Hound rubbed the back of his neck slightly, staring down at the ground. Two days, he'd been out for two day. In the meantime, he'd, according to First Aid, been visited regularly by Mark. But at the very least, Mark had nothing happen to him. According to First Aid, they'd made positively sure that wouldn't happen either. He sighed quietly, grunting a bit as he rubbed his chest. "Sound like you've had a fun first two days on Earth." First Aid gave a quiet laugh in response "I feel terrible for giving everyone the scare I did."

First Aid gave a friendly smile as he finished up his scans of Hound's internal systems. "Just try not to do it again, alright?" First Aid told him firmly "I might not have the temper that Ratchet did but I do not like seeing this stuff happen." He shook his head a bit "You also aren't to go into the field for another week. You may have gotten it stabilized but you still need time to heal." He explained.

"Right, right." Hound waved him off slightly "Am I free to go? Because I have a feeling I have a fourteen year old boy who'd like to see me soon." He explained.

First Aid nodded his head slowly, looking at his friend as he stood. "Last day of school was today." First Aid noted, eyeing Hound thoughtfully "And Drift should be back with him in about a half an hour. I think Mark said something about it being a half-day." Hound nodded his head as he stood to his feet slowly "So where'd you guys pick him up anyway? No one's told me yet."

Hound stepped over towards First Aid, and sighed a bit. "He was the son of one of the humans that hunted us down." First Aid's optics widened at that "I found him alone and in the claws of Cyclonus. The rest is sort of history, he's a good kid, and we decided to give him a home." He explained "After all, he lost a father, and I lost... Well, my entire family as well."

First Aid gave a sympathetic look towards Hound, and he knew why. First Aid had been part of the medical staff that had tried to revive his bonded, and sparkling after the destruction of the base. "Yeah, well, tragedy is said to bring people together. Though I'm not entirely sure "tragedy" would be the right word for the loss of anyone in that Cemetery Wind group." Hound nodded absently "I feel bad for the kid, though. It is just another casualty of this fragging war." He commented bluntly.

Hound was silent, though he finally gave another nod. First Aid was right, though he'd never say it in front of Mark, he still wasn't too bent out of shape about James Savoy's death. But he did feel sorry for him, at the very least. "Yeah, I ain't too bent out of shape. But apparently he at least treated Mark well." He explained, after a moment, he smiled, and slapped First Aid on the back "It's good to have you back, Aid. I missed having ye around."

"Likewise, it's good to see you again." First Aid nodded his head "Now, you'll need to let me know if you get any abnormal chest pain. And be in here tomorrow so that I can give you a once over." He then added "Like usual, even though I know this won't be an issue, no spark-merging or interfacing for the next twenty-four hours." He explained.

"Primus, who would I interface with?" Hound snorted.

First Aid shrugged his shoulders at that, though he kept his optics on Hound. Hound sighed, he wouldn't mind finding someone to couple up with on some days, now that he had Mark. But there were slim pickings with most every femme in the universe not on Earth, or not online. Of course, he would never have a bonded again, it was physically impossible for their race. But a partner at the very least... "You never know, give it a couple of stellar cycles, it could happen." Hound shrugged at First Aid's notion "Now go on, Hound, I still have some settling in to do, and I can't exactly organize my workspace while you distract me."

"Ye almost sounded like yer old mech there."

First Aid frowned at the mention of Ratchet, and Hound immediately regretted it. "I'll take that as a compliment." First Aid replied "After all, in a different world, at a different time, this might have been his med bay." First Aid turned and gave a small smile "I guess we all know that feeling, one way, or another, though." He added thoughtfully.

"That's war." Hound replied "It takes the best of us." He sighed a moment "Alright, I'm off to see what I missed from Prowl. I can at least fill out the memos he surely has for me."

"Take it easy." First Aid replied firmly "Medics orders."

This time, Hound waved him off slightly and walked off towards Prowl's office. For the moment, he would be thankful for the distraction from waiting for Mark, and wanting to tear Cyclonus apart even more than he already wanted to.

...

"So, your education process is going well?"

Mark pulled himself from his thoughts as Drift spoke up and leaned back against the Bugati's seat. He shrugged a bit, and kept the grin he'd had on his face, which seemed to spread from ear-to-ear. "It's whatever. But who cares about school anymore. It's summer vacation, Drift. I don't have to see that prison for a whole three months!" He then added "We should take you out for a spin around town, you're a Bugati man, girl's love a hot car."

The silence from Drift almost surprised Mark. Though Drift seemed to be a serious philosopher type, his alternate form had always struck him as meaning that there was some party animal side to him. "Perhaps we are better off not provoking human femmes in such a manner." Drift commented "My instructions are to take you to and from school on the grounds that..."

"Because of what happened to DC, yeah, I know."

Mark rolled his eyes, he wasn't sure he was going to like that. Though he perked up a bit as he remembered that at the very least, Hound was supposed to come back online that day. "You might believe Prowl is strict, but believe me, Mark, I have seen the other side of the coin." Drift explained patiently "If the Decepticons set their sights on you, they will do more than use you against us?"

"Wait a minute." Mark held up a hand, surprise in his eyes "You were a 'Con?"

There was a bit of silence between the two then as Drift drove through the streets of Fullton, Texas. "Many moons ago, when your planet was even younger than it is now." Drift began "I went by the name of Deadlock, and I fought for the Decepticons, yes. I did not have a very good life in my sparklinghood, I was a very angry mech." He then added "But even then, as time went on, I came to see that I was never meant for the Decepticons."

"Well, duh." Mark replied "You're the most zen person I know, Drift. I couldn't imagine you being savage like they are."

There was a certain edge to the response Drift gave. "Young grasshopper, you are young, and in many ways naiive." Mark blinked a little "Not all Decepticons carry the savageness of Galvatron. Nor do all Autobots carry the kindness of Optimus Prime." He explained, his voice quiet, and patient "Someday you will learn that good and evil is not just black and white, there is a grey area."

There were more Decepticons that might have been like Drift? Mark found that hard to believe, though he supposed there may have been some spies in the Decepticons as well. He crossed his arms slightly, taking a deep breath. "The more I learn about this war, the weirder all of this gets." Mark replied with a grunt "I'm glad you're on our side though, man. You and Sides are two swordsman I would not want to be on the other side of."

They both laughed a little at that as Drift turned down a road headed towards the base. "Me too, Markus-kun, I am most glad that I found my way from the wayward path I walked." But he quickly added to that statement "And yet, I am thankful for the way it has opened my mind to the world more clearly. For I have seen the darkest, and brightest sides of people."

"That's why you don't hold anything against my dad..."

"Precisely." Drift replied "I did many horrible things as Deadlock, I slaughtered... Many innocents." Mark listened intently as they made it to the base's checkpoint "There was a time, one might say, where your father and I were one in the same." Mark was glad that he never had to meet this "Deadlock" "But these are matters we need not dwell on." He finished.

As they finally passed the checkpoint, and entered the hangar, Mark was amazed. Had a half hour really passed since they started talking? He was more than a little surprised, as he and Drift never made much conversation. "Thanks again for giving me a ride to my last two days of school, Drift." Mark spoke as they entered the hangar, and Drift let him out "You're pretty cool, you know that?"

Another chuckle emitted from Drift as he transformed into his robot form. The samurai bot simply smiled down at him, and put his hands on his hips. "I only hope that I have not managed to make you frightened of me." Drift admitted politely "As the Deadlock side of my personality is long gone now."

"I've ridden on top a one-hundred foot tall t-rex." Mark replied "If I can do that without pissing my pants. Finding out what you were won't phase me."

Drift smirked, but nodded in agreement. He knew from experience that it was a scary experience all in itself. "I must get back to my post, Markus-kun. But I see that Hound is waiting for you." He pointed to a small distance where Hound was approaching them "Take care." He took a small bow before heading off.

"Hound!" Mark shouted as he jogged up "You're awake!"

Hound grinned as he picked his young charge up into his palm. He felt the young human hug his thumb, tight enough that he almost worried that he may hurt himself. "Yep, new, improved, and with brand-spanking new chest plating." Hound gently tapped his chest plate slightly "I'm sorry I gave ye a scare there, Mark. I never meant to do that."

"It's fine." Mark replied, with a breath of relief "Just... Never do that again."

"You know I can't promise you that."

"Promise you'll try?" Mark asked.

Hound smiled a little at that, and held him carefully to his chest. The cheeky smile on his face said it all, yet he still gave a response. "Alright, I promise from here on out to be more careful in battle." Hound raised a hand as if swearing an oath "Now c'mon, I'm off-duty for a whole week. Why don't we head into the mess hall and grab some grub. Then you can tell me how your finals went." He added.

Mark smiled as Hound finally deposited him on his shoulder. He knew it wouldn't be the last close-call that they'd have, but at least their first "close call" was over.


	27. Questioning and Family

**CHAPTER 27  
Questioning and Family**

Mark sighed quietly as he watched the base's movement that morning. Without school, he had to admit, things seemed somewhat slow. Usually, the weekends were a little more lively, but now that he was there on the weekdays, even though only two days had passed, it seemed boring. Most of the time over the past two days he'd spent drawing on account of the fact that a lot of Hound's recovery did involve recharge. What time he didn't spend with that, he spent running messages back and forth and at least trying to make himself useful. Most of the base found it useful, and were actually thankful to have someone around that didn't mind being an extra hand around there. Lennox had even spotted him five bucks for helping him out with some inventory, though that seemed to be a one time occurrence.

That day however, Mark didn't really have anything to do, and thus simply walked along the halls in his boredom. So when he finally heard someone call his name, he nearly jumped and spun around to find Lennox approaching in a hurry. "Hey, Lennox, what's up? You look kinda in a rush..." Mark replied as the man gave him a "look" "What? I didn't pull anything today, I swear. If something happened it was all Sideswipe."

"Nothing like that." Lennox replied, his eyes locking with Mark "Can you take a walk with me?"

The way the man said it almost surprised him, as it sounded unnaturally tense for the normally laid back colonel. Yet he only nodded and followed Lennox towards the human side of the base, feeling a little intimidated at the moment. Was he in trouble? Had Coulton tried something again? "Lennox, you're kind of freaking me out, will you tell me what's going on?" He asked.

There was a frustrated sigh from Lennox, but finally he stopped, and turned to face Mark. "I've been looking for a good time to talk to you about Coulton. But things have been so crazy the last few days... It took me a while to find a good moment that we weren't working or anything..." Mark chewed his lip a little, unsure of where he was going with this "Mark, the way he acted towards you the other day, does he always talk to you and the 'Bots like that?"

"Prowl hasn't told you?" Mark asked in surprise.

"None of them will, they think it'd be a bad idea to talk against an official since the peace is so... Fragile right now and all." Lennox shook his head, he leaned against the wall "But he's supposed to be keeping the peace between them and the government. And if he's like that normally, well... I don't like it. I don't like someone like that as a liason. We had one like him, Galloway, but he died." He shook his head "I thought we were done with this crap."

Mark shifted uncomfortably, was it his place to tell Lennox? Would the Autobots be angry if their human member did so? He bit his lip and mulled over the different outcomes in his head. "I haven't seen him interact with the Autobots _that _much." Mark finally spoke "But in that meeting Epps had me go to, he talked really poorly of them..." He paused a moment "And he's confronted me about my dad, a lot."

Lennox gave a slight grimace in response to that, and straightened a bit. "He hasn't threatened or hurt you, has he?"

"No! Nothing like that." Mark shook his head "If anything, I kinda almost punched him in the face once."

That time, Lennox also seemed to give a proud smirk. But he quickly hid it, finally nodding his head in response as he let out a heavy sigh. "Good... Well, not the punching bit. You can't do that, the last thing we need is you getting in trouble with the government." Mark nodded in agreement "But I want you to understand something, Mark. Help us keep an eye on him, I'm having everyone do it, but I want your help too. If he's as much of a snake as I have a feeling he is, we could get him fired."

"Trust me, he is."

Lennox nodded his head, and placed a hand on Mark's shoulder. The man looked the boy directly in the eyes now, as if to make a strong point. "Then I can trust you'd want to help me get him kicked out." Mark nodded in reply as the man smiled "I figured I could count on you on this one." He then added "And as for him talking about your dad. If he keeps doing that, let me know too. That doesn't go down on my watch."

Mark nodded his head slowly, taking a deep breath of relief. At least he had someone else on his side about this, as a part of him had been afraid to go to anyone but the Autobots too. As Lennox removed his hand and began to walk off, Mark looked thoughtful for a moment. "Will?" Lennox turned his head slowly "What do I do if he DOES try to hurt me?"

Lennox could tell by the tone of his voice that Mark had that as a very distinct fear. "Scream for one of us, knee him in the groin, anything you have to." Lennox replied "You have my permission, as long as you really think he's a threat to you... And us." He paused a moment "Do you?"

Mark didn't know how to answer that. The man was evil, yes, but was he an actual threat? He had yet to see enough of the man's demeanor to make a clear indication as far as either option went. "He just scares me sometimes..." Mark replied "It's nothing, he probably won't... I just figured it was worth asking." He explained.

After a moment, Lennox nodded in response. "Alright, I'm counting on you Mark."

Mark hoped silently that he wouldn't let Lennox or the rest of NEST down in that respect.

...

Hound sighed as he sipped his energon, rubbing an optic tiredly. Being off-duty, while seemingly nice, was a boring existence. Especially when he still wasn't entirely sure why he had to, considering he felt fine so far. To say his warrior spark longed for the battlefield and a reason to use his guns again may have been the understatement of the year. Yet it also rendered its rewards for an older mech like him, with the relaxation at the very least being welcome. And then there was the fact that despite his time resting, he was able to spend more time with Mark, which the boy likely needed after the scare he gave him.

Yet that day, Mark had gotten up earlier than him and thus he spent most of his time reading through old data pads. Perhaps it was nostalgia talking, but every so often, he liked to go through his old ones and relive memories. Some, like today's, were of his time with his family, while others reaccounted war stories he still thoroughly enjoyed reading. It wasn't until he was mid-way through his son's creation that his berthroom door opened and Mark stepped in. "Oh, so you _are_ up!" Mark teased "You're just avoiding the world."

Hound chuckled lightly, and held a hand down for Mark to climb on before carefully depositing him onto the berth. "You were nowhere to be found and I was aching. I figured Crosshairs would yell at me if I didn't stay in my room outside of grabbing energon today." He explained as he sipped his cube of energon carefully "Having a good day?"

"Eh, I've had better." Mark poked his head towards the data pad "What are you reading?"

Hound clenched his denta, still not sure if it was a good idea to talk much about his former family. Mark often understood, but a part of him often wondered if bringing them made their relationship feel any lesser in comparison. "Memories..." Hound told him calmly as he leaned against his berth's headboard "About... Things..."

"Your family?" Mark asked.

Hound sometimes wished that the boy wasn't too quick to catch onto these things. But even so, he nodded his head in response. He rested his arm beside Mark, and looked down at him. "I have plenty of data pads on you too, you know. Ever since I came across you." He explained, and it certainly was true "But you can understand, I hope, that..." He paused.

"It's okay, Hound." Mark shrugged "I get wanting to remember them." He paused a moment himself "What were they like, anyway? I've been living with you for a while now and you still haven't told me anything." The mech was silent "I'm sorry... Is it still a little too hard to talk about?" He asked.

Hound shook his head and waved Mark off slightly. "Aquastrius, my bonded was... Well, she was a teacher." Mark's eyebrows nearly skyrocketed at that "I know, we were an odd pair, but she still loved me anyway." Mark laughed a little "You would have loved her, she was a very compassionate, kind, and loving femme. I could not have asked for a more selfless femme to settle down with." He explained with a deep, sad sigh.

Mark looked up at Hound, quickly noticing the sadness in his optics. "And your son?" Mark asked.

"Coldsteel? Well, he was a chip off the old block. Hardheaded, goofy, and a little clumsy." Hound and Mark both laughed a little at that "He was probably the biggest little troublemaker I knew too. If he had lived past his fourteen vorns, he may have given Sideswipe a run for his money." The boy smirked in response to that "In the smallest of ways, you remind me of him. In your pranks, and your ability to pull things on me without getting into much trouble." He then added "He had that effect on me too."

Mark nodded his head, and noticed that the look on the mech's face had now changed. It was more of a smile, now featuring a smile on both his lips and optics. Was finally actually talking to him about them helping? He didn't know, but it was still pleasant to see a smile accompanying talk about them for once. "I wish I could have met them." Mark admitted "They sound pretty awesome, especially Coldsteel. He probably would have taught me even more than Sides did." He added.

"The two of you would have been a force to be reckoned with." Hound vented out slightly "I could tell you a few stories of his own mischievous deeds that he did." He added rather politely, moving through the data pad's content "I think you might enjoy some of his misadventures." He added pointedly.

Mark leaned back and nodded his head as Hound searched them out. Maybe it was time he learned more about the family that he had come to be a part of, he figured. If he did, he could already tell that it would make Hound feel a whole lot better about missing them. And what's more, he had told him so much about his own father, with nothing in return at this point. "Go ahead, I've got plenty of time to hear them." Mark replied "I really want to hear it." He reaffirmed to Hound, who seemed uncertain.

After a long moment, Hound nodded his head slowly. "I suppose I can start with just a little after he was born." Hound told him with a chuckle as he leaned over slightly "This one reminds me of something I could see you doing at a few months old."

"Hit me." Mark laughed as they settled in for the story.

...

A/N: And yes, since I didn't go into detail, next chapter will contain flashbacks! :D I waned to fit in a chapter with Hound and his old family at some point, and I figured it'd be a nice change of pace. :)


	28. Memories

A/N: Good news for those who wanted to see Ironhide in the fic. You'll get a little cameo from him here. :3

...

**CHAPTER 28  
Memories**

_It was only a little after Coldsteel had been created that the first incident that Hound told Mark about had happened. He and Aquastrius had just moved into the new Autobot base in which they would be living, due to Hound's newfound involvement in the war. Of course, raising a sparkling while being in the middle of war had never been what Hound had wanted. In fact, he had wanted a simpler life in a small home in Iacon. He'd gotten the Iacon part, but the rest of it hadn't exactly come to fruition. But he knew he was doing the right thing in deciding to join the army and fight for the freedom of Cybertron from the Decepticons._

_If only he were as good a sire as he was a warrior sometimes. _

_His mate had left him alone with their sparkling for three hours so far. And even though he thought the mechling had sat still in his crib while he was filling out reports, he had soon turned around to find that Coldsteel had disappeared. His first, and strongest reaction was of panic. Had someone snuck in and stolen his sparkling when he was distracted? But who in the Autobot base would do that? Who would want to? His processor worked on an absolute overload, he'd already torn apart his quarters, and now, as he rushed out into the hallway and began his frantic search there. _

_Of course, of all times to run into his older brother, Ironhide, this would be it. Hound had barely registered that he had run into the mech's rough plating, though he nearly barked at him, stopping himself only as he realized it was Ironhide. "Oh 'Hide thank goodnesss!" Hound shouted, his voice in panic mode even moreso than before "Have you seen Coldsteel? I turned my back on him to work! I thought he was taking a nap!"_

_"Hound, slow down." Ironhide waved him off slightly "He's only crawling at the moment. The little guy couldn't have gotten far." Hound put his hands on his hips, with narrowed optics "Oh right, I'd almost forgotten. This was **your **offspring." He snorted "Welp, I would be preparing for a proper tearing out from Aquastrius if I were you. When she finds out you lost her sparkling, she'll tear your spark out, at best." He added._

_For a moment, Hound looked ready to scream, but it quickly faded as he noticed the look in Ironhide's optics. At this point, Hound flared with annoyance. "You know where he is, don't you?" The smug grin on Ironhide's faceplate was all the mech needed as an answer "Ironhide, what on Cybertron have you done? If I find my creation firing off cannons, I swear to Primus..."_

_"Hush." Ironhide snorted "I'm the cool uncle, but even I wouldn't think to let a sparkling anywhere near my cannons." Hound sighed in relief, though it only lasted a minute "He managed to do a good job of crawling his way to them himself!" Hound's optics widened, his processor nearly on the fritz by this point "He's in the weapons vault right now, safe and-."_

_"Ironhide, I'm going to offline you!" _

_Hound couldn't have run for that weapons vault of Ironhide's if he even tried. And with good reasons, once he had arrived, he found his sparkling alright. The sight he beheld was a small sparkling about the size of an adult human, with green plating and blue accents, as well as wide ocean blue optics, with little hands all over an army grade blaster. "COLDSTEEL!" The sparkling jumped, the weapon firing on a discharge just as Hound had rushed over and scooped him up, lucky for them, the blast only hit the wall "PRIMUS! Coldsteel, what in Primus's good name were you thinking? How did you even crawl out of your crib!?" He asked._

_The sparkling barely replied with a quiet whir, reaching up to touch his sire's faceplate. The giggle he emitted reminded Hound that his son literally could not even understand a word of his scolding. Sighing a little, he shifted Coldsteel slightly, keeping as wide a smile as he could on his face. "You can't do that you little troublemaker." Hound told him gently "But I suppose on the bright side, with your ability to sneak out so easily, you might have a future ahead of you in special ops." Hound laughed quietly. _

_Coldsteel purred lightly, resting his head against his sire quietly. Hound grunted, as much as he hated it, his son probably could away with anything if he kept looking up at him with those blue optics. "He's actually a natural shot." Ironhide snorted as he stepped inside, watching as his brother started for the door "Red Alert is going to tan my hide for that though."_

_"Tell him to get in line." Was all Hound could say. _

_..._

"I really wish I had met Ironhide now." Mark spoke as the story ended, Hound turned his optics to him "He sounds like he would have been an _awesome _uncle." That earned an optic roll from Hound, though the boy shrugged "But yeah, that sounds like something I'd do as a kid. When I was five I almost took my dad's brand-new Hummer for a joy ride."

Hound's optics widened at that, not liking the mental image. A five year old was a handful enough without adding getting behind the wheel to it. "Oh boy, most of you humans have those so-called "terrible twos" you must be an overachiever." Hound poked Mark gently getting a giggle from him "But that is nothing compared to what your brother did when he was a little younger than you were now." He said, searching for the entry.

"I bet he never road on the head of a hundred-foot t-rex!"

Hound only smirked, but shook his head in response, finding the story and beginning.

...

_"Of all the stupid things you could do!"_

_"Aquastrius, go easy on him."_

_Hound backed up with his arms raised as his mate turned to him with a deep glare in her yellow optics. Even when she was angry though, Hound could still not help but gawk, even the slightest bit, at her. She was beautiful when she was calm, but when she was angry, she was too, between her slim frame, and sky blue armor. "Are you even paying attention to what **your **son did?" She asked._

_That was enough to snap him out of his thoughts, and towards the twelve vorn old in front of him. Coldsteel looked rather guilty, lowering his gaze to the floor as he traced his peds along int. "Huh, right." Hound nodded his head "Tell me again, son. What were you thinking when you set that paint and feather bomb in the hallway for the visiting seeker officials?" He asked "You do understand how many of them have joined the Decepticon cause already?"_

_Coldsteel hung his arms, and groaned. "I thought it would be funnier! I was really looking to hit Magnus though, he's been an aft lately. But then the officials came by and I just... I was weak. It was too good of an opportunity!" Aquastrius seemed to rub her foreplate lightly "Come on, carrier! You saw it happen, you can't tell me it **wasn't **funny!"_

_The femme narrowed her optics, and looked ready to smack her creation, if she hadn't loved him too much to do it. "You're lucky the seekers found is humerous, or I'd be making you write an apology to each of them!" She threw her arms up and turned to Hound "Hound, deal with your son. If he keeps shouting "stupid" in my receptors I may just lose my head!"_

_Hound watched as she exited Coldsteel's berthroom and into their living room. He crossed his arms, and looked over at Coldsteel, who now sat down on his berth, the look of guilt never faltering. "So, did you get the smug one?" Hound asked with a chuckle, surprising even his son, who looked up at him in shock "What was his designation again? Starscream?"_

_"Yeah! He was the only one who got mad!"_

_"Good. I never liked him, he keeps flip-flopping loyalties. I'm surprised he was even allowed on base." Coldsteel giggled slightly, and Hound grinned "Don't worry too much about yer mother. She's just a little worried, what with the war getting seemingly worse." He picked up the now exploded bomb that was resting on top of a data pad case beside him "Next time, just show a little more judgement. You know seekers are known for their temper."_

_"Yes, sire." _

_"That's m'boy." Hound rubbed his helm and set the bomb in Coldsteel's hand "Keep it, I don't think anyone would believe you did it without some proof." He added, the mechling chuckled as Hound sat on the berth, and began to gently tickle some of his loose wiring, causing him to burst out giggling "You're good at this, but again, I mean it. Cool it down, I love ye too much to lose you." _

_As Coldsteel squirmed, Hound continued to hold him close, tickling him even more. "Okay! OKAY! I swear!" Finally, Hound let him go after a good minute of this "... I love you sire."_

_"I love ye too." Hound stated, kissing the youngling's helm "But you're grounded for the next three Megacycles." Coldsteel groaned "Does the tickle monster need to come back and turn that frown upside down?" He asked._

_"NO!"_

_"I think he does."_

_And so, for the next few minutes, all that could be heard through the quarters was the loud giggling of a youngling._

_..._

"Wait, wasn't Starscream the Decepticon second-in-command?"

"After we got tired of his flip-flopping, yes." Hound nodded "At the time though, the seekers hadn't chosen a clear side yet."

Mark nodded back, making an "OH" motion with his lips and shaking his head. "Still, I don't even think I'd have the guts to do something that ballsy." Hound chuckled a bit, nodding sadly "You really loved him, didn't you?" He asked, as if he didn't already know.

Hound smiled, and ran a finger gently through his foster son's tuft of brown hair. He could see the boy was getting drowsy, and thus he knew there would only be time for one more story and began to search for one more with his sparkmate. "You and Coldsteel..." Hound began, his optics shuttering "Were - Are the two best things that I have ever done in my life." He explained.

"Me?"

"Would you be here if I didn't feel the same way about you?"

Mark wasn't about to argue about that, so he simply leaned back. "Aquastrius sounds like she was a hoot too." Mark told him, laughing lightly "Are you gonna tell me one she's actually in for longer than five seconds?" He asked teasingly.

"I was just getting to that." Hound grunted "You little brat." He joked.

Hound gently rested his finger on top of his head as he began the final story of the evening.

...

_Hound hated working late, but he especially hated it on the Cybertronian equivalent of a human weekend. It was the time where he got to spend the most time with Coldsteel, who was now fourteen vorns, and what's more, he knew it worried Aquastrius sick. Yet here he still was, his head rested against his hand as he tried his best not to pass out into recharge at his desk. "Hound, it's almost been an entire megacycle." He heard a sweet, melodic voice speak up, as his optics lifted to see Aquastrius in the doorway "Can't you come back to our quarters?"_

_"You want to tell Prowl why these data pads aren't in tomorrow?"_

_His sparkmate's response to this was to approach him, push his chairs against the wall and kiss him on the lips. Hound smirked slightly, it was moments like these that really reminded him of why he loved this femme so much. She was so spontaneous, so beautiful, so seductive. Even as they became creators and grew older, she had never lost that peppy, but fierce nature that he had fallen for all those vorns ago. "Tell Prowl to go frag himself. He's always having you do mountains of data pads." She stated as she released him and sat up on his desk "You're always working these days, I hardly get to see you." She tilted her head "And have you forgotten the discussion of another youngling...?" She asked._

_Hound stared up at her, leaning back in his chair. "Another? You still want to bring another sparkling into this Primus-forsaken war?" He questioned teasingly, the femme merely shrugged, and smiled "Primus, I still need to pencil time for that in, y'know. I've got lots of meetings, and missions, and..." She flicked him upside the helm for that one "What about a youngling?" Hound commented._

_"I don't think it works that way." Aquastrius told him, wrapping her arms around his neck._

_"Not the natural way, of course. I was thinking more about... The youth sectors." Hound told her, and she stared at him with wide optics of surprise "There are so many sparklings and younglings displaced by the war, sweetspark." He explained, wrapping his own arms around her waist "And we have so much love to give. We already have one of our own, so why don't we give our love to someone who needs it?"_

_The femme smiled in response, she always had liked his softer side. "Adoption, eh?" Aquastrius asked him quietly "I like that.. Another mech, though. I'm such a tommech I'm not sure I can handle a femme youngling that I didn't raise from sparklinghood myself." She then added "Maybe one around Coldsteel's age too, he's always complaining about how he doesn't have enough playmates!" She then added "We could turn that spare office next to yours into a bedroom, oh, or they could bunk!"_

_Hound stood up from his desk, plucking the femme off of it. The data pads were all but forgotten now. All that existed was this beautiful little piece of reality that was his life, and his sparkmate. The love of his life-cycle. "Sweetspark, we haven't even applied yet." He chuckled as they exited his office "How do you even know it will be a mech? We might only be able to get a femme." _

_"Just a feeling." Aquastrius replied with a "hmmm" "I really do love it, Hound. It's a good idea, especially since you were adopted too." Hound nodded in response, it had been one of the many reasons he had thought about it "But trust me, it's gonna be a mech. I always had the feeling that if we ever had another, it was going to be a mech..." She added._

_Hound only smiled in response, taking her hand as they walked towards their quarters. They stopped in front of it, and opened it as the two of them entered. Immediately, Hound entered Coldsteel's berthroom to the side. He frowned as he realized his son was already asleep, yet that night, despite his fear of waking him up, he felt oddly compelled to approach him. Walking towards the slumbering form on top of the berth, he rubbed the thick of his back, and gently kissed his forehelm. The mechling shifted, and cooed as Hound smiled a little. "Sweet recharge, my precious one. I love you." He murmured as he made his way back out._

_He had only just closed the door as Aquastrius pulled him forward. It was clear that adoption was not going to get him away from interfacing that night, nor did he want it to. That night, a gold, old-fashioned round of interfacing sounded just right. "I love you, Aqua." He murmured between their deep kisses._

_"I love you too, Hound."_

_As they made their way to their berthroom, Hound remained blissfully ignorant. Ignorant to the fact that this was the last night that he would spend with his beloved sparkmate. That that had been the last time he would see his son at all. Ignorant that tomorrow, he would wake up to an emergency call that would take him away from the base, with many other high ranking Autobots, away from their families. Ignorant that tomorrow, a raid would take away everything he loved in life._

_Ignorant, of the tragedy that was about to befall him. _

...

Mark had stayed awake through the bits between Hound and Aquastrius, yet by the time the revelation came, he was out. Hound sighed quietly, perhaps it was for the best that he never knew that depressing revelation, and was instead left with the love he and his sparkmate had for each other. He leaned back, and took a deep intake of breath, it was only now that he thought about it. Aquastius had been right about her feeling, one day, he had found a little boy, alone, who needed his love. He had taken him in, he had planned to raise him.

What none of them had counted on was that she wouldn't be there to help, or that both she and Coldsteel would be dead by then. "You woulda loved our second little mech, Aqua." Hound spoke as silently as he could, staring up at the ceiling, as if speaking to the heavens "He may not have been an actual "mech", but he makes one pit of a good son."

Little did he know, while the boy's face was turned away from him, Mark gave the slightest of smiles. Though he never once stirred as Hound rested his head back against the berth himself, and let his systems power down beside him. Today, he made a mental note just before he went into recharge, would be another entry to add to his data pads on his time with his new family.


	29. Distrust

**CHAPTER 29  
Distrust**

Some days, Coulton hated his human disguise even more than he hated the Autobots. All these years he had spent hours upon hours of time forging documents, infiltrating the humans (even before the Autobots arrived), creating a signal scrambler to keep his identity a secret, and forcing himself into a liason positon. And what did the Deception pretender have to show for it? He was no steps closer to destroying the Autobots from the inside, his master's army had been reduced to small numbers, and worst of all, his sparkmate, who had fought in Chicago was dead.

And now there was _the kid_.

He hated to say it, but this Mark Savoy was doing a good job of being a real thorn in his side. He was one of the few reasons the general public was even deciding to try and trust the Autobots again. Now they had a mascot, a cute little kid who they were raising, and whom they were giving a semi-normal, happy life. The world no longer only saw the war machines that fought in and nearly destroyed three major cities, they saw gentle giants who were there for the protection of all life, human or otherwise. And it more than made the Decepticon sick to think about.

Stepping out of the shadows of the parking garage in the worst part of Washington D.C., Coulton listened for the loud hum of engines that signaled his master's arrival. Sure enough, no more than a second later, the large truck that was Galvatron drove out of the darkness and stopped in front of his underling. "I hear the old one with the attitude still lives." Galvatron spoke without even a "hi" "How could they manage such an operation without complications?"

"The medic, First Aid." Coulton replied "It was a minor set-back, Lord Galvatron. But they weren't going to give up the boy anyway, he's their asset. The only reason the humans are even beginning to trust the Autobots again." He tapped the side of his sunglasses before taking them off "We might as well forget about separating them, and instead focus on our other options." He added "He was only a back-up plan, anyway."

He backed up slightly as Galvatron transformed, crouching low so as not to hit the roof. To say the silver, man made Decepticon didn't look pleased would have been an understatement. "You'd be wise to remember who you are talking to, Pretender 9067." Coulton cringed slightly "It's true I do not need the boy for our plans. But I cannot wait endlessly for you to grow a processor and find someway to destroy them from the inside." He snarled "I grow impatient, and tired. And you have done NOTHING."

"Are you forgetting who got you out of Hong Kong to begin with?" Coulton snapped "Or who gave you the Vehicons to begin with!"

"Yet the Autobots are still standing..."

"We were so close, we could have destroyed them..." Coulton shrugged.

"Then why do they still live!?" Galvatron growled, his voice dripping with venom.

"We had a SETBACK. They got rid of Cemetery Wind. Or have you forgotten that was the plan? To let that buffoon Attinger, and his underling Savoy destroy them for us?" Galvatron looked away with a grunt "Need I remind you who messed _that _up? I was so close and then you just had to jump the gun and screw it all up! You should have figured it out and bought yourself time and had the power Trip when I wasn't the only one who knew you were still active." Galvatron slammed a fist just inches from Coulton's form "Now we have to start from scratch."

Galvatron grunted, his optics narrowing with anger. Coulton knew that Galvatron knew he was right, that he had screwed up. The problem with the Decepticon leader was, however, that he didn't _like _being the screw-up. "Something must happen. Something that will make the humans fear the Autobots again." Galvatron noted "Whether it be harm to the boy, or a set-up, we need to break them, and the humans trust of them."

"I'll gladly kill the boy and frame them." Coulton said with a sneer.

Galvatron seemed to contemplate this for a long time. And yet, he shook his head slowly, his optics lowering to Coulton. "I want the boy kept unharmed... For now." Galvatron explained "I want you to break him from the Autobots as well. But I want him in one piece." He rubbed his talons together with a malicious smile "I think he may prove to be a valuable asset to us just yet."

"That's really a shame." Coulton pouted mockingly "I was hoping to snuff his bratty aft out."

Galvatron swatted at him slightly, growing tired of his underling's mocking. "Now is there anything else you have to report. Or has our little meeting served no further purpose than to remind me of my failures?" As Galvatron moved a talon forward towards him, Coulton stepped back slowly "Chose your next words wisely, pretender, because if I don't like it... We have many pretenders who can take on your alternate form."

"None that have been working on infiltrating their government since before you were defrosted."

"The one thing that Starscream and The Fallen did right." Galvatron mused, then looked down upon him "Should I take this as you have NOTHING else noteworthy to report?" He asked frustrated.

"I have one, regarding Optimus Prime." Galvatron's optics widened at the mention of the Autobot leader's name "He's coming back, my lord. He's nearing Earth as we speak and is due in one Earth day." Galvatron's fangs grinded at the thought of this "I thought you'd want to know, given I had no idea if you'd want to prepare a "landing party" for him." Another sneer "What?"

"For your sake, you had better hope he has not brought reinforcements."

"You were too busy to contact, you wouldn't pick up until last week!"

Galvatron got his face up quite close to Coulton, a snarl erupting. For a few short moments, the pretender suspected that this was it. He was done for, his master would crush him now and send him to the well to meet his beautiful sparkmate. "Let the Prime land without conflict. I want them to feel safe, and one may just tip them off at this point." Coulton sighed with relief and nodded "Continue to try and destroy the alliance, double time now that Prime is returning. If results have not been met in a satisfactory amount of time... They won't be the only ones who are snuffed out."

As Galvatron transformed down, Coulton could only watch him leave, bewildered. What could he do without hurting the boy yet? What did Galvatron make of him? A genius? He gritted his teeth, and sighed, he had a lot to think about on the long walk back to his office.

...

The base was abuzz with activity with only a day to go before Optimus's arrival. As of yesterday, they had finally heard from Optimus again, more clearly this time, that he would be arriving on-schedule. Even Mark himself felt some excitement at the coming of the Autobot leader, along with some reservations. A part of him still could feel that tinge of fear of how his presence would go over with the Autobot leader. "So am I coming with the greeting party this time?" Mark asked as he approached Crosshairs, Hound, and Drift in the communications center "I don't have school this time!"

Hound and Crosshairs exchanged glances, though it was Drift that spoke up first. "Our young grasshopper has missed both the arrival of Prowl and First Aid in the past. And as this is a time of celebration..." He looked down upon the young human "I most certainly do not think it would be an issue to bring him along to see Sensei's arrival."

"You really want to get into this first thing?" Crosshairs asked.

Hound shrugged his shoulders, and looked at Crosshairs. "Aw, what could it hurt? He doesn't need to be told right away. It's not like he'll see him an immediately think of James Savoy." Mark laughed a little at that "Don't worry, he'll ride with me. And if Prime asks, we'll just introduce him as "Mark"." He noted, causing Crosshairs to roll his optics, but only nod "Just no funny business kid, ye gotta be on yer best behavior."

"Like I'd be anything less when I'm meeting Optimus Prime." Mark laughed "I'd be more worried about Coulton if I were you. Or are we finally leaving that jerk behind for once?" Hound gave Mark a "look" "Of course we aren't. Because we have to deal with creeper Mcdickhead on a regular basis." He muttered under his breath.

Hound crouched low and gave his foster son a pat on the back. As if to signify that he wasn't the least bit happy about bringing the man along either. "Don't worry too much about it kid. You'll be with the Autobots to greet him." Hound explained "He'll be with the government officials, and they don't even get to greet him first, we get to." Mark grinned a bit, feeling a rush of excitement at that.

"Awesome."

"Very." Crosshairs then waved him off "Now Mark, I'd appreciate it if you'd let us work. If we don't keep doing our work then our leader might not even land in the right place." Mark stuck his tongue out at the mech in response "Go on, you little bugger. And ye should get to sleep soon if you want to be up at five in the mornin'." He added.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Mark waved him off "I'll be fine."

And with that, Mark was off, leaving the three chuckling mechs behind. Though for Hound, it was a nice surprise to see that Mark had seemed to push at least some of his worries away and get excited. Though he had a feeling that in the morning, he'd either be too tired, or too intimidated to be that excited. "Thank Primus he didn't ask to invite his friend, Kenny." Crosshairs snorted "I think we'll have one excited little guy already."

"Kenny-kun isn't so bad." Drift replied "I met him picking Markus-kun up. He seemed like a very friendly boy."

"I'm sure he's fine." Crosshairs shrugged "But I don't think we have time for fanboys all things considered."

Hound gave a snort, and a nod, he had to admit that he agreed with him there. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked thoughtful. "Slag, I almost forgot, Prowl needed me to check on who's coming and who's not." Hound stated "We have so many already coming that he thinks we need to lower the number. In case anyone tries to make a move to hurt Prime."

"Better get moving. You know he gets impatient."

Hound gave a nod and made his way out into the hallway, though he only had gone a short way before he noticed Coulton. The mech attempted to bite back a grimace at the sight of the man, though he chose to simply avert his gaze. "Hound." Coulton nodded his head curtly in his direction "Exciting day, isn't it?" He asked with "Hmmmm" "Your son sure seems excited."

"I don't know if I've made it clear enough." Hound stopped him short of starting a second sentence "I don't like you, in fact I don't _trust _you." Coulton seemed to grimace in response to that comment "So I suggest you stop talking to me. Because as of late, to add to it, you're really pressing my buttons." He added coldly "Don't think I forget what you did when I was out."

Coulton gained his composure, and cleared his throat. Clearly he wanted to look tough, but looking up at the larger, more imposing Cybertronian was not helping when said-mech was angry. "And here, I thought you were supposed to be the friendly kind of robot." Hound grunted, continuing on "Good talking, Hound." He added with a smirk.

As Coulton walked off, not for the first time, Hound watched him. It was true, he _didn't_ trust him, not even a little. And one of these days, he had the deepest suspicion that his feelings would be proved to be warranted.

...

A/N: Yep, Coulton's a Decepticon pretender. ;) I had been debating on when I'd reveal this to you guys, but I felt as the story was in need of a little twist, now was a great time. Anyways, check back in next chapter if you're ready for the big return of the one and only Optimus Prime!


	30. The Return of Optimus Prime

** CHAPTER 30  
The Return of Optimus Prime**

"Hey Hound, I think I can see him!"

Hound eyed Mark slightly, and then back up a the stars. It was early the next morning, and as promised, he had brought Mark along to witness the return of the leader. Many government officials had joined them, as well as the Yeager family and Shane, had joined as well. But his attention wasn't on any of them at the present, his optics had caught sight of the large, burning object that seemed to be headed their way. "Incoming everybody." He stated as he scooped Mark up and put him on his shoulder, backing up himself "This is gonna be one big landing."

And a huge landing it was. For several minutes, as the mech landed on the ground with a loud THUD was dust. Dust everywhere, something that Sideswipe was no doubt going to complain about for several days. Eventually however, he could make out a shadowed figure became present in the distance. Mark tried to shield his eyes to get a better look. "Is it him...?"

"Yeah, that's him." Hound smiled.

When meeting Optimus Prime, most people might have felt admiration, excitement, maybe even humbled to be in his presence. But for Mark, all he could think as the dust cleared, and he got his first look at him was: _Damn, he's HUGE. _Not that he wasn't accurate, as even from his perch, Optimus was a titan, towering over the other Autobots with ease. The Prime gave a warm smile as Prowl stepped forward from the large congregation of Autobots and humans. "Prowl, it is wonderful to see you, old friend." As they gripped each others arms in greeting, and then he turned to address the rest "It is a pleasure to see so many familiar faces."

Mark shakily stood to his feet on Hound's shoulder as Optimus went down the line of Autobots. Though it only barely gave him a better look, his ant anticipation built with each greeting. Eventually, the Autobot leader found his way to them though, and Mark yet again felt weak at the knees. "I trust you did a fair job of holding down the fort until Prowl arrived, Hound." Optimus noted as he and the large mech bumped fists.

"Ye know it." Hound crossed his arms "And a lot more too." He then added "It's good to see you Prime."

"As it is good to see you my old friend."

At this point, Mark felt those large deep blue optics fall upon him, with a look of curiosity and amusement. Was Optimus chuckling as he tried to keep his footing atop Hound's shoulder? Mark blushed a little, and looked down before giving a shy wave. "H-Hi... Mr. Optimus Prime... Sir."

"Hello, young one." Optimus turned to Hound "Much more, indeed." Optimus raised an optic ridge in curiosity.

"This is Mark, he's my foster son." Hound explained, earning a small smile from the Autobot leader "We have a lot of catching up to do on that end, Prime. But considering it's not the most important matter at hand... I'll fill you in later." He winked.

For a moment, Mark wondered how Optimus would react. Was he going to demand to know the story now, was he going to wonder where he came from? Optimus only regarded him for a moment, smiled, and held a large finger out, much to his surprise. "Then I believe a welcome to the Autobots is in order, Mark." He then added "I look forward to getting to know you."

After much hesitation, Mark took the finger, and shook. His eyes filled with shock still. He had just shaken hands with Optimus Prime, a mech he had admired from afar for some time. "T-T-Thank you sir..." He then added "It's an honor to meet you."

"Optimus, or Prime." Optimus told him firmly "That's what my men call me, and that's what you will call me." He then leaned in with a warm smile "And believe me, the pleasure is all mine."

"A-Alright Optimus."

And then, with the greetings to his Autobots (and Mark) done, he turned to address the rest of the human congregation. Mark tried not to grimace as he seated himself onto Hound's shoulder, seeing that Coulton was already making his way forward. "Optimus Prime, let me be the first of our species to welcome you back." Coulton's words carried a certain edge to them "I'm David Coulton, I am one of your new liasons to the human government."

"What of Charolette Mearing?" Optimus asked, having become fond of the woman.

Coulton shook his head, and looked up at the Prime. "She was under Obama. I'm under a different president who assigned me to this task." He then nodded "As well as a friend of yours, as I understand, Robert Epps." Epps stepped out of the congregation next "We have much to talk about, Mr. Prime. If I may be so blunt..." Mark grimaced "Since you left things have changed a lot."

"What are you implying?"

Prowl was the one to step forward, and grab Optimus's shoulder, as if to tell him not to egg the man on. "Well, we did shut down Cemetery Wind and arrest its members." Coulton began cooly "But it seems that your Autobots, in a lapse of judgment have invited an associate of theirs into your very base." Optimus's optics widened as he turned to glance at Mark, who was shrinking back "Yes, the son of Agent James Savoy has made himself _quite _at home here."

There was dead silence, as Optimus regarded Mark for a long moment. "Prime, he is NOTHING like that man!" Hound immediately stood up for his young charge "We can explain this if you'll just give me a moment..."

Optimus was silent for a long moment, and then nodded. "Once we get to base, I wish to be debriefed on the situation." Optimus explained "For now, there is much to talk about in the way of the Decepticons, I presume." He stated tensely.

By Coulton's side, Epps shot daggers at the man. "If you weren't my superior..." He started with an angry breath.

It was going to be a long day.

...

The Autobots had called an official meeting as soon as they reached the base. A meeting which Mark currently paced outside the room of, trying desperately to hear what was being said. He knew what they were talking about, him, and he had a distinct clenching in his stomach that seemed to make him wonder even more if there was anything good coming out of this. Was Optimus going to kick him to the curb? Would he even allow Hound to explain? He didn't know, all he knew was that when the large doors to the meeting room finally opened, Hound was the one that approached him as the others scattered. "He wants to talk to you, alone." Hound told him slowly.

"He's kicking me out, isn't he?" Mark asked, his hands slightly trembling "I don't know if I'm ready to get chased off by a forty-five foot robot yet, Hound."

"Just go in, Mark." Hound nodded "Keep your chin up, kid."

After a moment, Mark only nodded back, and started through the doors. The meeting room was huge, with a transformer-sized table and chairs, big enough to seat Optimus himself. And yet, still, Optimus stood tall over it, and again, Mark couldn't help but take in how intimidating he was. "Mr. Prime, I'm begging you. No matter what you do to me, just don't be mad at Hound." He then added "It was just supposed to be temporary, if Cyclonus hadn't-."

"Young one..." Optimus commented in a way that commanded the boy's attention "Your anxiety levels are skyrocketing, please, calm yourself. I am not going to hurt you, I would never harm a child." Mark seemed to relax a little, noting the honesty in the mechs voice "And I am not angry at Hound."

Mark took another tentative step forward, unsure of where this was going. Soon Optimus had plucked him off the ground and set him on the table, so that they were closer to eye level. "For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about what my friend did to you and the others." Mark attempted, his voice wavering a little "I never even knew that my dad was like that. He was always so normal, and loving..." He shook his head "Please, you have to believe me."

"I do."

"I mean, he - Wait, you DO?"

Optimus nodded his head, a twinkle of understanding in his optics. "I too was betrayed by the mech I called my sire, Sentinel Prime. In my optics, he had always been a caring and compassionate mech, one whom raised me to be who I am today." Optimus explained, Mark's eyes widening "But as it turned out, he was not the mech I thought he was either. He was the one who ordered the attack on Chicago in which the Decepticons tried to enslave your race."

Mark's mouth gaped open at this new information a full minute before he swallowed and replied. "So... You know what I'm going through, then."

"Very much so, young one. Which is why I wanted to speak to you one-on-one." Optimus explained with a comforting smile "My mechs told me that you feared I would throw you out onto the street because of your fathers disgusting actions against our race." He then added "But that is _not_ in-line with the beliefs I have held since I became Prime." Mark's grip on his legs relaxed at that "Rather I wish to explain something to you."

With that, the titan crouched, so that they were now completely eye-level. "You have the trust of my mechs, and the trust of many on this base as I understand." Optimus began, with a soft voice that reminded Mark of how a grandfather may speak to his grandchild "Who your father was, and what he did is of no consequence to me. If you are a good person, if you can earn the respect of those closest to me. You are welcome with the Autobots." He explained.

"So I can stay?" Mark asked.

Optimus nodded his head, and then added. "I know we have no exact standing with each other yet. Whether it be good, or bad." Mark nodded in agreement "But if what the others have told me is of any consequence. You are a human that I look forward to getting to know." He explained "And as for this Coulton, pay him no mind. No attempts at singling out someone for something such as this will ever be taken into account. As a leader, I chose to formulate my own opinions on an individual."

Mark sighed in relief, he had a feeling that he and Optimus would get along just fine if this little meeting was anything to go by. "Right, that's a good policy to have." Mark stated as Optimus picked him up off the table and set him on the ground "But if that's the case, why are you taking the others opinions into consideration?" He asked.

"I have known them far longer than I have that man." Optimus replied honestly "My mechs have earned my trust, but as for this Coulton... I truly do not know what I think of him yet. But my first impression was not a kind one." He added as he led Mark out the doors "You had better run along, I have much work to do with my arrival." He explained politely "No doubt Hound will want to hear how this conversation went."

"Alright, thank you si- I mean, Optimus."

Optimus gave an amused chuckle at the small bow that Mark gave him before rushing off to meet with Hound, who was waiting nearby. Optimus looked at the boy for a few moments, and began to walk back down the hall. Much had changed, but in his processor, that was what made things so interesting.


	31. Frustrations and Suspicions

**CHAPTER 31  
Frustrations and Suspicions**

Mark was almost amused by how unhappy Coulton was over Optimus not kicking him to the curb. Almost immediately after they had talked, Mark and Hound had heard a loud argument between the two, which had ended with Optimus telling him to "leave my Autobots alone". Too put it simply, Optimus had made his point: Mark could stay with the Autobots as long as he wished to. And anyone, including Coulton, who saw a problem with his being there would now have to deal with not only Hound, but himself as well. And Mark had to admit, it did help things a lot now that a twenty-five foot robot the world was afraid of making angry was on their side too.

For the first time in what felt like too long, Mark felt one hundred percent at home. The only thing that seemed like it might get in their way was social services, but Dana's inspections had gone well enough that it wasn't much of a problem. Other than on days like today, when he was mandated to meet with another person from social services for a second, or sometimes third opinion, something that the group had required due to his "unusual circumstances". To tell the truth, he hated having to dress nicely and deal with people he knew barely were even okay with him living there, yet he had no choice.

The man that had arrived at the hangar was almost as tall and intimidating as Optimus would be if he were human, and called himself Trent. Yet Mark stood his ground, and simply followed the man on the walk along base. The man carried a clipboard and had the hardest look of any official outside of the government that Mark had come to meet. After a moment, the man snorted. "I almost thought they were kidding when they said where they were sending me." He stated, breaking the silence "I've seen a lot of weird living situations, but yours, kid, takes the cake."

"I get that a lot." Mark replied, trying his best to keep up good conversation "But it's cool, living here isn't that much different from living in a home... When you look past the big guns, the security clearance, and the giant robots." The man gave him a look at that "Okay, so it isn't normal. But normal's overrated, right? Everyone but this one guy, Coulton's been pretty cool to me."

"Mmmhmmmm." Trent nodded his head slightly "Yeah, okay, so you're okay with the whole weird, sci-fi life. So we can mark you down as being comfortable, I guess." He then added "Though I kind of want to question your sanity for being okay with that, I'm not here to judge. So, let me start my questions, because quite frankly I have a lot of kids that are actually my cases to see." He explained "Have you been hit?"

"Nope."

"Asked to have inappropriate relations?"

"Ew, no."

"Have any of the giant robots that are currently in your makeshift "family" tried to force their way of life on you?" Mark gave a raised eyebrow at that, confusion in his eyes "You know: religion, culture... Have they tried to turn you into a cyborg...?"

Mark almost wanted to slap the man for the sheer stupidity of that last statement. What did they think his life was? A bad sci-fi movie? He shook his head slightly, and crossed his arms. "No, no, and no. I've learned about their religion and stuff, sure. But I'm all flesh and bones." He replied bluntly "Look, I get it. You guys are worried about my well-being. But I'm fine here, in fact I'm learning a lot by living with aliens. I'm _glad_ I opened my mind."

By the unamused look on Trent's face that he was not buying it. Yet Mark knew what he said was true, he had felt that way for some time now. The man sighed, and took a few notes on his pad. "Well, opening your mind is a good thing at least. Just be careful with what information you absorb." He added "Now, to move on with my questions... Are you ever deprived of food, or used as slave labor on the military base?"

That time, Mark's eye actually twitched. "No, what does this place look like? A prison?" Mark asked with a snap to his voice that seemed to catch the man off-guard "I'll save you the rest of the questions. They treat me like they would any kid because they raise theirs almost the same way. They've introduced me to a little of their culture, and some knowledge of the stars that most humans don't know." Trevor looked surprised, but began to scratch down notes "And I do help on-base, because I'm a kid, and I do need chores. But they're really minor chores and I've never even seen a battlefield."

Trent looked thoughtful for a long moment, but ended up not looking as convinced as Mark had hoped. The boy sighed quietly as the man came to a stop in the middle of the base, and looked at him. "Alright... Alright, I get it. Now, I have to go and meet with Hound, and give a once over of your sleeping arrangements and conduct my own interview with him." He explained "Thank you for your co-operation."

Mark knew the last bit was not entirely serious, as he hadn't actually been as co-operative as the others would want him to be. But to be frank, he hated this whole situation. Why couldn't Hound be treated like most foster parents? This was one of those things that just seemed unfair and prejudicial. Yet, he sucked in a breath, and began to walk off. Maybe if he found Sideswipe, he could calm his frustrations as best as he could.

...

Optimus had watched the meetings with Hound and Mark with complete and utter curiosity. It was definitely a little odd, especially since he'd been told another social worker had met with them that month. Yet, he also understood that the humans had only a wavering trust, one which went both ways at this point. It was, however, a matter he did not let slide as Hound entered his office some time later with data pads. "They certainly are taking great caution with your situation, are they not?" Optimus spoke up as Hound raised an optic ridge "I saw the man who came in to talk to you and Markus."

Hound nodded his head, understanding now. As he heaved a sigh, he carefully rubbed the back of his helm. "Well, yeah, I mean I fought for custody of him and won, but there were a lot of conditions." Hound explained "They sounded simple enough when Dana described it on the phone, but frankly, I could do without the grilling." He then admitted very honestly "But I'm just lucky they even gave him to me, I'll do what I have to as long as I stay lucky."

Optimus nodded in agreement, they were lucky to have Mark on their base. Especially so shortly after the disaster that was the Cemetery Wind/KSI incident. "Indeed, I am amazed that any of you managed to do so. After all that has happened, it would have been hard." Hound nodded in agreement there "Tell me, Hound. How often can I expect these visits?"

"Twice every two weeks." Hound grunted, rolling his optics a little "Hopefully that'll end once we get things sorted out and I adopt him..." He explained, shrugging his shoulders slightly "At least, so long as he agrees to that."

"Have you two talked about it?"

Hound shook his head, his optics lowering to the ground. It was too early for that, he figured, Mark hadn't even called him "dad" yet, and that would be a good sign it was time to talk. But it was something that he really wanted more than anything, to be able to call Mark his legal son and have social services out of their hair. "Someday. It's only been a couple of months. I don't want to jump the gun and put him in an uncomfortable place." Hound then set a data pad onto the desk "I got that file on Coulton you wanted, by the way." He then added "Can I ask why you needed it?"

Optimus gave Hound a look, wondering how he had not figured it out yet. "Something is wrong about that human." Optimus admitted, his voice lowering "I'm doing my best to hold my suspicions..." Optimus paused "Yet I still feel as though he could be a danger to those on this base... As if... There were more to him than meets the optic."

"You get that same feeling then?" Hound asked, and the leader nodded "He talks down to Mark all the time. We have to keep him away on most days, especially after he told Mark his father was frowning upon him in "hell"." Optimus narrowed his optics at that "I know, I mean, we all know the creep is probably there. But what kind of jerk says that to a kid?"

Optimus leaned back in his seat behind his desk, tapping his chinplate slowly. He looked up and regarded the information thoughtfully before responding to Hound. "Such an action strikes me as one of a man who _wants_ to cause trouble." His voice was soft and uncertain as he picked up the data pad "Therefore, I cannot rule out the possibility of a Decepticon-sympathizer, or worse..."

"What could be worse?" Hound asked.

"I do not know, Hound." Optimus replied with a sigh "The events of the "Pretender" program that the Decepticons developed when they discovered Earth... Well, those very easily come to mind, given they found it first." Hound shuddered, having heard the story of "Alice" and Sam "But I very highly doubt this is the case, without a spark signature, or any outright "evil" acts. I would not jump to any such conclusion unless we are given reason to."

"Ye want one of us to trail him?"

Optimus looked thoughtful for a moment, but shook his head. Now was not the time to be accusing the humans of anything, lest they end terribly on their end. For now, he would have to watch from afar from now, and hope silently that the man was neither. "No... If we were caught that would only end what little trust the humans have in us for now." Hound nodded quietly in understanding "That said, we should all keep our eyes on that man. Lest we find out when it is already too late."

Hound nodded in agreement, hoping silently that they were all wrong. If Coulton did turn out to even be in league with the Decepticons, there would be more trouble than they had expected. "Right." Hound cleared his "throat" slightly "I'm goin' to head back and let Mark know it went well, if that's all then." He noted, turning to leave the office.

"Hound?" Hound turned his optics to eye Optimus "Whoever he is, do not worry for Mark's safety. If Coulton is not the man he presents himself to be, we will find out." He stated firmly.

"I know."

But as Hound left his leader's office with newfound tension, he knew all he could really do was hope that would be the case.

...

A/N: They won't be finding out about Coulton anytime soon. But I thought it was time that Optimus brought up some suspicions I figured the others would have.


	32. Chances and Girls

**CHAPTER 32  
Chances and Girls**

"HOUND!"

Hound nearly jumped out of his armor at the sound of his name, distracted temporarily from his work in the main hangar. His optics turned to see Mark, rushing up to him, and nearly tripping. The mech had been expecting him, considering he was supposed to be coming from Kenny's house around this time. Yet he hadn't expected him to be as excited and breathless as he was. "I take it this isn't because you missed me in the last couple of hours." Hound jested, his optics raised in curiosity "What's got you so excited, youngin'?" He asked.

"Kenny's dad... Saw one of my comics." Mark managed to get out, though the Transformer didn't understand what made this exciting "Hound, his dad owns this local newsletter... He loved it and he says he's going to publish it in the next issue if we copy it and give it to him." That got Hound's optics widening "I know, right? He has this "local artists" section I guess and..."

Hound chuckled and waved his hand slightly to calm Mark down. "Mark, Mark, slow down..." He told him gently "That's all very exciting. Did he give ye any more information? They are going to give you credit right?" Mark nodded his head vigorously at that "Alright, I want to talk to the man before we publish so I get all the details. But if it all checks out, y'know fragging well yer jumping on that offer."

From his position at a desk near Hound, Prowl smirked. "Getting published will look good on your college applications. As well as help you when you attempt to make a career out of it." Prowl looked at the young boy curiously, and rested his hands on his knees "I didn't even know you drew, youngling. Too bad Sideswipe's brother, Sunstreaker is not here, he knows all about these things." He added, then shuddered "Primus, that sentence left a weird taste in my mouth."

"I take it you're not a fan of Sunstreaker?" Mark asked teasingly.

"He's not _that _bad." Hound offered.

"I don't like anyone who's an outright hooligan. Sideswipe's bad, but I am okay with him since he at least isn't one." Prowl explained, standing to his feet as his doorwings trilled with annoyance "His brother on the other hand, is the definition of a "hooligan". Has been since we found them when they were twelve vorns." He added with a grunt.

Mark put his hands in his pockets, and shrugged. He figured that Prowl was exaggerating, but he dared not bring that up to the second-in-command. Rather, it was Hound who chuckled, and began to talk. "Be thankful that Red Alert isn't on Earth to hear you say that." Hound explained "He's the one that brought them up. It's no wonder they became rebellious with a worry-wart like that raising 'em."

"Red Alert?"

"Pray ye never meet him." Hound laughed "He's a paranoid guy, nice, but overbearing. He'd drive ye up a wall."

Mark had a feeling that his guardian was right, given he still was driven nuts by Prowl sometimes. If Red Alert was any worse than Prowl, he would not have much fun with him at all. "Most of us get annoyed by him." Prowl then stepped forward more "Mark, I'm rather curious to see your art, might I have a look?"

Mark was surprised, Prowl was taking more of an interest in stuff he did? After a moment, he nodded, taking the notebook under his arm, and holding it out to Prowl as his holoform, a tall, tan, and hardened police officer appeared and took hold. "I'm uh, not that great... I mean, I've only shown a few people, and..." Mark watched Prowl as he observed it closely "Yeah. I have a lot of work to do."

Prowl nodded, flipping through pages another several minutes before handing it over. "Some work, you may still need to do. But I can see why your friends father asked you, you're talented." He explained as his holoform disappeared "Given the level of talent, I definitely recommend Hound sees the company first though. As you humans say it could be worth something someday."

"I know, that's what I tell Mark about all of his art." Hound looked at Mark with a "told you so" expression "But he didn't believe me."

Mark blushed, did he really have that much talent? Before it had just been his dad who told him but now it was the Autobots and his friends dad too, they were seeing it. And perhaps, truly for the first time, Mark was starting to see his own talent too. "You guys really think I'm good enough for this...?" He got a nod from both of them "Then I'm definitely doing it, I'll tell Kenny's dad you want to talk with him first though and stuff."

"Good, why don't you go and do that, kiddo?" Hound nodded "I still have a bit of work to get done. But when I'm off, we can pop in a movie if you want."

"Sweet!"

And with that, a grinning, and even more excited Mark was rushing off. Hound chuckled, and turned around in his desk to continue his work. He was surprised when Prowl looked over with a smile of his own. "The boy is extremely talented for his age." He stated calmly "I'll be curious what life may be like if we have another artist living on-base."

"He won't stay that long." Hound mused with a hint of sadness "Someday he's going to want to leave, go off to school, start his own life." His voice became somewhat distant as he said that "But I know he's going to make it, and I know this is the first step." He commented as he began to go back to his data pad "Which is why I need to get this done, because every second I get with him counts." He explained.

"Indeed, it does."

But Prowl would only leave it at that, knowing Hound needed no reminder of the short life-span of humans.

...

That evening, Mark and Hound settled down for a relaxing feature in his bedroom. This time, Mark had picked an action movie that Hound had been inclined to watch by the name of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Mark immediately was taken in by the fact Captain Kirk from Star Trek was in it, as well as the intrigue that came with the spy portion of the movie. But even moreso, he was drawn in by the fact that the woman starring in the movie was really, really hot. Whereas Hound seemed to be most into the action, not to Mark's surprise, Hound seemed like an action guy.

Mark was thankful to have nights like this now, with Optimus and Prowl now on Earth and taking all the weight that had been on Hound's shoulders. It was beginning to become more like things had been at the start now, and that was a welcome feeling. "You see, in another life, if I wasn't an artistic type, this is what I'd want to be." Mark explained "I mean, I got the hot cars, the epic lifestyle, and the good looks." That last part he said in a mock-conceited way.

"The modesty too." Hound poked his stomach a bit.

"Hey!" Mark chuckled "But what I still don't have her... I mean, I don't know if I want a relationship right now. But just give me ten minutes alone with someone like his girlfriend." He stated as he motioned to the screen "I haven't even had my first kiss yet, and it sucks."

Hound snorted at his foster son slightly, though he knew how he felt. Most kids at his age or the equivalent felt the same way about women, they wanted the experience, but were never quite as ready as they thought they were. "Ye wouldn't have the first idea what to do with that girl, Mark. Yer a little young to know the ways of femmes yet." Hound replied.

"So teach me." Mark leaned over "How did you woo your "femme"?"

Hound laughed that time, crossing his arms in amusement. "So you want the advice of your old mech on dating?" Hound asked teasingly, poking him again "I'll tell ye what, kiddo. You find yerself a date one of these days and I'll teach you _exactly _how I won Aqua over." Mark's expression brightened at that "And I don't mean to go drag any ole femme off the street, mind you."

Mark rolled his eyes, he wasn't sure how it would work otherwise. Given Tessa was much older and spoken for, and Maria, well, he wasn't sure if Maria was interested in him in that way, and it was a very mutual uncertainty there. Leaning against the massive mech, he looked up at him silently for a moment before speaking. "I guess we're just two single dudes at the moment then." Mark replied "Especially since you can only bond once."

"Bond once, yes. But that's fine, if the right femme comes along I can still carry a relationship." Hound shrugged his shoulders "So I believe your notion of "two single dudes" is very much accurate. Because I haven't found the correct femme to settle with or "date" either." Mark shifted a bit "I don't think now's the right time to be looking anyway. I have ye to be worry about enough with this war going on. A mate would be even more stressful to handle." He added.

Mark looked up at him, frowning a little. "I don't mean to be a burden."

Hound shook his head and waved his hand at him quickly. "No, no, you're NOT a burden, Mark. I thank Primus every day for gifting you to me the way he has." Hound explained, his voice firm and honest "I'll take any stress related to you that I'm handed." He added, again with firmness "But the stress of a mate is not something I want to welcome into my life yet. Not after the last time." He admitted.

"Kind of like I'm not totally ready for adoption yet?"

Hound nodded, it was a very good analogy to make, after all. "I lost my bonded, you lost your father. And while for you, you already know and live with me... Therefore, it will be easier for you to accept it if and when the time comes..." Hound began "It'll be a harder task for me because it is even harder to imagine anyone else making my spark feel the same way." He added.

"I don't know, with you I feel the same way I used to with my dad." Mark told him honestly "And... You feel the same way about me that you felt about Coldsteel, don't you?" He asked politely.

"Of course I do!" Hound replied in surprise.

"So, I bet someday you might find someone that makes you feel the way Aqua did." Mark replied with honesty "Even without a bond. I mean, I know we have that guardian bond. But I bet even that's kind of different than the bond you have with your biological kids."

Hound smiled, he always did enjoy the fact that Mark kept a certain optimism about some things. Even though he also had negative feelings towards other situations, it was nice to know he did have those positive thoughts. "Yeah, I guess you could be right about that." Hound replied "But it'd have to be someone good for the both of us. Because she's gonna have to be a mother too."

Mark nodded, understanding that position as well. "Yeah, maybe someday."

"Someday."

As the two continued to watch the film, Mark popped in another handful of popcorn. His eyes looking up at Hound silently. "Either way, she's hot. You think your connections in the government could get me a meeting with her?" He commented "I think her name's Keira Knightly." He added.

That was all Hound needed for the serious tone to drop. With a hearty laugh, he tickled Mark's side, causing him to giggle. "I think that's above most paygrades." Hound told him gently "And she's got just a few too many years over you, m'boy. Think SMALLER." He added jokingly.

Mark smirked, returning to leaning against Hound and watching the movie. For a moment, his eyes went back to the pocket containing his phone. Maybe one of these days, he was going to have to finally meet up with Maria to hang out as friends. If nothing else, he had a good feeling that it would be somewhere to start.

...

A/N: I figured it was time that Hound and Mark had at least a conversation about dating. I hope I handled it well enough. XD


	33. Stubbornness and Guardians

Guest #1: Haha yes, I love that movie so I wanted to have it in there. And wow! That's a huge compliment that you can picture it in Optimus's voice! Thank you very much!

Guest #2: That's not a bad idea ta all! Definitely something to be brought up at least. I'll try and fit in a little bit of that in there.

A/N: Holy crap, has this really hit 280 reviews!? You guys have no idea how happy the amazing response to this story makes me. It's been quite the journey so far, and I'm so glad you guys seem to be enjoying taking it with me!

DISCLAIMER: The OC in this chapter, Moonrider, belongs to Mimzy94. I don't own own Transformers, it is owned by Hasbro/Takara, I only own Mark and any OCs OTHER than Moonrider.

...

**CHAPTER 33  
Stubbornness and Guardians **

How many people does it take to take care of a sick kid on a military base? Mark had inevitably lost count after some time, but he did know that he wished he hadn't been hovered over. Though he was slowly getting over the stomach flu he had had, most of the base seemed to either ask him if he was feeling alright, or avoid him for fear of being sick. He guessed that it didn't entirely help that most of the NEST personnel were parents, or had been parents at some point in their lives, and he was a kid too. Yet there was still one mech who mostly treated him the same. "Primus, kid, you call this feeling better?" Sideswipe teased as Mark dragged himself into the main hangar "You look like you just got done being on Shockwave's "examination" berth."

"Shockwave?" Mark asked sheepishly.

"A Decepticon scientist, a very nasty mech." Drift brought up from the side with a sigh as he walked along carrying a data pad "My friend Moonrider got captured once, now she turns into animals and an organic form." He shuddered slightly "And the way it happened didn't seem very... Kind either." He shuddered "He also committed some experiments that a young grasshopper such as yourself should not hear about." He then added "I thank Primus he has met the Pit every day." He stated as he continued to walk off "Glad to see you up and about, youngling."

Mark shuddered, though he was thankful to hear that if this Decepticon was sick, he was at least gone now. He sneezed slightly, and groaned a bit. "Don't let Hound know I'm still a little off." Mark muttered "I don't want to be sent back to bed with soup again. I think I've literally seen every imaginable episode of Family Guy twice now."

Sideswipe shook his head, putting his hands on his hips slightly. "You know I'm not going to say anything." Sideswipe told him honestly "Hound may be older, but he isn't blind, he'll figure that out himself." Mark stuck his tongue out at him "Come on, kid. You really SHOULD be back in bed, you know that, right? You were puking up half your food yesterday."

Mark merely scowled, and crossed his arms. He'd always been stubborn when it came to being sick, since he naturally hated laying in bed for long periods of time in the day. Sideswipe rolled his optics, and nudged his human friend slightly with one of his wheel feet. "Sides, you, Drift, and Mirage are the ones who are not hovering over me and waiting for me to puke my guts out." Mark groaned "Please don't pick now to be like the rest of the base."

Sideswipe chuckled lightly, he enjoyed teasing the kid too much. But it was okay, because he knew deep down, Mark knew he was right, and would be over it before too long. He grinned, and patted the boy on the back this time. "Kid, you're like a little brother to me, I gotta give you a hard time sometimes." Mark frowned as Sideswipe looked up "Oh, what's up Hound?"

Mark jumped, and perked up quickly, only to find no one there. "You suck." Mark grunted.

"And you're too easy to fool." Sideswipe hummed teasingly.

Mark groaned as his stomach gurgled a bit, this time, Sideswipe quickly wheeled to the side. He shook his head slightly, and pointed at him. "If you vomit all over me, I swear to Primus... I'll haul your aft off to bed myself." He told him bluntly as he rubbed the back of his neck "Love ye kid, but seriously, this is a fresh paint job, and I don't want to be cleaning it off all day."

"You'd deserve it after that." Mark joked "I'm fine though, seriously. It's just a little left over, seriously, scan me. Do I have any sign of a fever?"

Sideswipe shrugged, running a scan over him. "Nah, I guess not." He replied "I just thought I should give you fair warning."

At that point, Mark looked ready to argue before Hound casually approached both of them. Oh man, now he was doomed, because there was no way that Hound was letting him stay out of bed right now. Sure enough, Hound had a frown on his face as he took the "cigar" he had out of his mouth. "Son, what in Primus's good name are you doing out of bed?" Hound asked bluntly "You had a fever of one hundred and three yesterday! You should be back in bed before you get even worse." He added.

"Hound, I feel fine." Mark insisted with a quiet groan "Come on, don't be a stiff, I can handle a little stomach ache."

Hound didn't look like he was willing to take that advice, not in the least. Rather, he picked Mark up as carefully as he could and made sure he saw the stern look in his optics. "You're going back to bed, my little mech wrecker." Hound told him without blinking "You're fourteen, and I expect you to act like it. You can handle a day or so more in your bed. I promise, no more Decepticon activity than what you've missed on other occasions will happen."

"But-."

"Bed." Hound told him "Do I really need to take you there myself? I'll do it in front of the entire base if I have to."

Mark didn't look happy as he crossed his arms in response. He looked ready to declare that Hound sucked, but sucked in a breath, realizing that getting angry would get him nowhere. "Fineeeeeee." Mark replied as Hound set him on the ground "But let it be noted, I am actually going of my own free will, not because I have to." He explained.

"Of course you are." Sideswipe snorted "C'mon shorty, I'm on my way back to our side of the base, I'll walk you to your room."

Hound watched as the two started off towards the Autobot side of the base quietly. That boy was a stubborn one, a fact which would make him all the more curious to see how that would develop as he got older. He had a feeling that he was going to be a handful, as much as he was looking forward to it. "Hound!" The large mech nearly jumped out of his armor, turning to see Crosshairs headed his way "Prowl's lookin' for you."

"What now?" Hound asked curiously.

"Didn't ask, he sounded mighty concerned though, I'd go see what he wants."

Hound nodded as he headed off wordlessly, part of him wondering what on Earth Prowl could want.

...

"What can I do for ye, Prowl?"

Prowl turned around as Hound entered his office with a quick salute in his direction. Prowl made an "at ease" motion before looking Hound in the optics and crossing his arms. "Hound, I wanted to talk to you about Mark." Hound raised an optic ridge slightly "Nothing bad, I promise. I simply wanted to talk about his protection." He explained, Hound raised both optic ridges at that "With the Decepticon attacks, I think it's time we assigned him more than just a legal guardian. I believe we need to do the same thing we did with Samuel before he went into hiding, and now before he joined NEST when it was reformed... As well as what we have done for Cade and his family." Prowl explained "He needs a Bumblebee, a guardian."

Hound looked thoughtful at him, but slowly nodded in agreement. He knew that Prowl had made a good point, Mark needed someone who would be with him constantly. As a "driver" while Mark was young, and his "car" when Mark inevitably got his license. "I agree." Hound crossed his arms "Mark does indeed need that protection that I can't provide him with." He then added "Have you talked to anyone about it?" He asked.

"Sideswipe volunteered himself."

Hound nodded his head, that was no surprise at all. Sideswipe and Mark had a very Sam and Bumblebee-like relationship, between their joking and friendship. And most of all, Sideswipe's older brother nature over Mark that they had come to see. "Well that's an easy yes." Hound replied "Sideswipe would offline to protect Mark without even batting an optic. Just the same as I would." He then added "Their bond runs deep."

"Yet Sideswipe has never been a guardian before-."

"He's thirty-five vorns old now, Prowl." Hound replied "He may not be the most mature among us, but he is more than capable of this. Especially considering it's a job carried by Bumblebee, who is even younger." Prowl frowned at that, though he knew that the older mech was right "Mark would want someone protecting him that he knows and trust with his life." He then added "The only other mech that would probably be able to do it is Mirage, and he isn't too fond of Mark like that." He explained "Not to mention, I had him guard the Martin family while they had Mark, and he did just fine."

By the look on his face, Prowl didn't like the idea, even with that last bit of information. But then again, Hound noted that they really hadn't ever seen eye-to-eye on most instances. "We can always ask Prime for his opinion." Hound explained politely "But as Mark's appointed legal guardian and foster father, I believe I have jurisdiction on who protects him?" He questioned "At least simply in this situation."

Prowl grimaced a little, though he knew that Hound made a good point. Mark was first and foremost his responsibility, and he did have a good deal of say in who protected the boy. "Very well, I will inform Prime." Prowl explained "Though he may still refuse it, I see the logic in your reasoning all around. As much as I hate to admit it, you would know best who would be best equipped to handle your charge." He then explained "Including Sideswipe... Who I will admit is a much more mature mech than his brother at times."

"Sunstreaker is the most mature mentally." Hound corrected.

"But his actions rarely show it. At any rate, he's not on Earth and therefore not in the pool of options." Hound nodded, taking a deep breath "Either way, I will talk this over with Prime, and have Sideswipe join both myself and him soon." He explained, nodding a little "It will be your duty to explain to Markus what his new "bodyguard" entails." He explained.

Hound gave a quiet nod, having seen that one coming quite quickly. "Fair enough, I'll handle that as soon as he's awake. I got a comm earlier that he's passed out in bed. Still recovering from his virus that he contracted." He explained before saluting again silently "Am I dismissed? Because I do have other work to attend to." He explained politely.

"You're dismissed." Prowl replied "And I do hope that you know what you're doing with these two."

Hound snorted as he left the room, unlike Prowl, he knew this was the right idea. Sideswipe _would _protect Mark with his life, and they were already close friends. If there was one mech on base that he could trust to protect and care about his foster son, it was Sideswipe. "So, you trust me with his life, eh?" Hound turned as he saw Sideswipe leaning against the wall "Sorry, I was just driving by and heard, can't help that I'm a little nosy."

Hound smiled, and nodded his head as Sideswipe rolled up beside him following him down the hall. "You have been a good friend and confidant to Mark." He explained "And am I not correct in thinking I _can _trust you as his bodyguard?"

"Of course you can! I would offline for him." Sideswipe said with all the firmness that Hound wanted to hear "Ever since I guarded the Martin family, I've been fond of the little guy." He then added "He's like the little brother Sunny and I never actually had." With another grin, he narrowed his optics "And any Decepticon who would try to attack him on my watch? Would walk away missing a few necessary limbs." He added bluntly.

Hound put a hand on the young mech's shoulder, and smiled. "Then I _know _that he's in the right hands." He then poked him in the chest lightly "Just know that I'm counting on you."

"I know."

And Sideswipe wasn't about to let him down.

...

A/N: I finally got a mention of Sam in there! So yes, he is now part of NEST. He may or may not appear a little later, we'll see.


	34. Needed Help

**CHAPTER 34  
Needed Help**

Hound hated long missions, especially when they lasted the day. After a day of hard fought battle against the Decepticons, the sounds of the base were welcome to him. It may have been a hypocritical thought, as he loved the rush of battle, but lately he had more to miss out there. He hadn't even seen Mark that morning, having left him under the watchful eyes of NEST Personnel and equally watchful optics of Sideswipe. He quickly checked his internal clock and noted, with relief, that it wasn't too late, and not past the boy's designated bedtime, he still, at the very least, had time to visit and enjoy time with his son.

As he drove inside the base, and into the hangar he quickly found Mark. The boy was seated on one of the military vehicles and talking to Sideswipe as they both stared off to the side. Hound didn't even need to look to know that Coulton was there, but as he transformed, his suspicions were confirmed. He gave a faint glare towards the man before approaching the younger Autobot and his charge. "He hasn't said or done anything has he?" Mark stared up and smiled as Hound approached and shook his head "Good, because I'm tired of his slag."

"Grimlock was hanging out earlier, and everyone knows he and I are tight." Mark replied "I'm pretty sure he wasn't going to be saying anything with him around." Hound chuckled in agreement, no doubt Grimlock would eat him for that one "That and Sideswipe kinda made it pretty clear that his blades would skewer him if he tried again."

"Not literally. I just showed 'em off a little." Sideswipe stated at Hound's look of worry "I'm not dumb enough to verbally attack him in any way. I'm pretty sure he'd have all of our afts in jail." Mark smirked a little at his guardian, who seemed to smirk proudly "But still gotta keep doing my job as guardian, right?"

Hound smirked back, nodding in definite agreement. Protecting Mark definitely included protecting him from people like Coulton. Hound turned to Mark and carefully picked up the human, smiling as he held him close to his chest. "So, I suppose today went without incident?" Mark nodded "Good, because I've had a rather long day in the field and I'd rather not deal with aftholes today."

Mark laughed lightly and leaned his head against his foster father's chestplate. He was definitely happy to have Hound around for the first time that day, even if the narrowed eyed Coulton didn't seem to be. "Mostly, anyway." Mark shrugged his shoulders a bit "We had a paintball war, but I mostly got myself washed off. And that was pretty chaotic."

Sideswipe pointed at Mark. "The kids got a nice shot, if he doesn't make it as an artist, maybe he'll be a soldier."

Hound shuddered at the thought of Mark being drawn into their war as a NEST soldier. If it was what Mark wanted, it was something he would fully support no matter what, but he wouldn't be happy. "Nah, not a chance." Mark shook his head "I'm not even a violent kid, I'll leave the fighting to you guys. I mean, I never even want to think much about firing a gun." He then added "I'll stick to learning basic hand-to-hand and sword fighting from you so I can protect myself, thanks."

Hound tried to hide the breath of relief as Mark said that, depositing the boy onto his shoulder. He looked ready to add to the conversation when he heard someone's throat being cleared behind them and turned around slowly to face Coulton. "Can I have a word with the two of you?" Coulton asked in an almost disturbingly calm tone to his voice "Without the hostility for once."

Hound snorted a little at that, finding that hard to believe. But he still crossed his arms, and stared out at the man quietly a moment before speaking. "If you insult me or my son once, this conversation is over." Coulton glared at him, but quickly changed his expression "What is it that you want _Mr. _Coulton?" Hound clearly strained himself with the formality of the title.

Coulton took a few steps forward, and looked between the two of them. "I've actually been asked to do this by my superiors. Who are incredibly stupid to even make this suggestion." Mark cringed, at least he was insulting someone else for once though "They've been tossing around ideas of how to help your ties with the public. And as it so turns out, there is a charity event taking place soon for kids in foster care." Mark's ears perked up at that "Apparently, they have gotten wind of this bizarre relationship the two of you have..."

"That's one strike." Mark muttered.

"The point being..." Coulton rolled his eyes a bit "That they have asked if you two would be guests of honor at the event. Given how "incredible"," He gave air quotes as he said that "Your story apparently seems to be to them. They're eating up the story of a foster kid being taken in by someone so vastly different as being another species entirely." He explained "They think it will make more people consider fostering, and my superiors think it would definitely help the Autobots public image."

Hound eyed Mark slightly, the guests of honor? That was definitely something very interesting, and while it was coming from Coulton, not a bad thought at all. "I think I'd love to attend." Hound nudged his foster son "Mark?"

"You know I'd do anything to help you guys out."

Coulton's face seemed to change into a look of disappointment. Clearly, this was not something the Decepticon pretender wanted to happen. But all the same, he would blow his cover if he didn't send the "good news" over to his "superiors". "Well, that's great!" Coulton faked, forcing a smile "I'll be sure to pass that along right away." With a quiet "You'll regret it." As he thought quietly about the things he could do to sabatoge it.

Mark turned to Hound slightly. "I don't like the way he reacted to that."

"Me neither." Hound replied politely "But we'll be fine, it'll be fun, and helpful to our cause."

Mark nodded, though deep inside, he hoped that Hound was right.

...

That night, Mark found himself unable to sleep again. He'd slept a few hours away before midnight had come, and almost by impulse he woke up. It was July fifth - his dads birthday, or what would have been his birthday. He turned over onto his side to peer at the picture on his nightstand, which he had finally kept out since Hounds brush with death. It was not alone anymore though, beside it, he had placed a framed picture of Mark and Hound, with himself held in Hound's hand and big smiles on both of their faces during one of their "fun nights". Both were comforting to see, but neither made him feel any better about the fact that it was the first birthday for his father that he wouldn't be celebrating.

"Happy birthday, dad." Mark whispered to himself.

His moping in bed didn't last long however, as he was soon climbing out of bed and exiting his bedroom. The base was mostly silent on the Autobot side, while on the other side he could hear tons of human activity. Mark had always understood that most of the Autobots were in their offices at this time, so it didn't completely surprise him, and he merely tiptoed past Hound's doorway to make his way into the main control room. He was only alone for a minute before a gentle baritone voice made him aware he was not alone. "I thought your designated bedtime was ten o'clock." Mark turned around to face Optimus silently as he entered the room "Why are you not in recharge, Mark?"

Mark wanted to lie, but quickly could not find the words. Something seemed wrong about lying to Optimus, especially with his reputation of being the most honest mech of all. "I can't sleep." Mark crossed his arms, a frown spreading "I guess maybe it was dread about today... Or what's going to be today, I guess." He attempted "It's my dad's birthday..."

Optimus regarded the young human silently, and quietly nodded. "I can imagine how hard something like that must be." Optimus offered "As Sentinel's creation day, too, was a very hard time in my life-cycle. Especially during the period before I knew he still functioned." He explained "But as a youngling, I feel as though it must be a much harder day to accept."

Mark tried to smile, but seemed to fail. "I was just thinking about my dad's birthdays before. We used to go out, just the two of us. Every year, it was different, sometimes a nice dinner, or we'd stay home and have a nice one..." Mark mused "Or we'd go out of town... Like one year, we went to Maui and we went swimming with dolphins."

Optimus found it hard to picture Savoy doing any of these things with a child. Yet he supposed he had seen only one side of James Savoy, the dark side that he wanted desperately to keep hidden from his son. "I see... You two were quite close, weren't you?" Mark nodded absently "I know I have not expressed this before... As I did not have the best relations with your father. But I am deeply sorry for your loss..."

"Thanks." Mark replied "I'm sorry for yours too. All of them." He then added "I still wish I could just go back in time and stop my dad from killing so many of you guys..." He looked up "Especially now that I've gotten to know you guys so well." He explained "Maybe he'd be here to celebrate his birthday. Maybe he'd even have allied with you guys and work for NEST."

Optimus's optics dimmed a little at that. "A fine wish to have." Optimus replied "And yet, to do so you would wish away many things too." He tried his best to point out gently "Your relationship with Hound, your guardian, Sideswipe... Your friendship with Kenny, or the Yeagers... Even Colonel Lennox." Mark was silent, but nodded a bit "It is experiences like that that often remind me of an old human saying "everything happens for a reason"."

Mark was silent, twiddling his thumbs a bit. "I guess that's true. I don't know if I could actually be okay with a world where I didn't know Hound or Sideswipe." Mark shook his head "Or really, any of them." He admitted thoughtfully "I guess I just am not over it yet. It's getting better, but... Whenever he comes up in the smallest of ways I feel like I'm getting my heart ripped out."

"Perhaps, you simply need someone to speak to." Mark looked up at Optimus "Other than Hound, or Sideswipe. Someone who knows how it feels, personally, to be betrayed by a loved one... And yet deal with the mourning for them that you inevitably go through."

Mark took a minute to go over what Optimus was saying. "Are you offering me your shoulder to cry on?"

Optimus looked up the term quietly before finally nodding in confirmation. "I know that you will more than likely go to Hound for such a thing." Optimus explained "And with reason, as he is your legal guardian and caretaker." He added very firmly "But, if you should find yourself in need of advice or guidance during your grieving process... Or just need to speak to someone who fully understands." He paused "My doors are always open to you."

Mark allowed himself to smile at that, his eyes lighting up. The Autobots, and NEST were right, Optimus really _was _the kindest person he had ever come across next to Hound. He chewed his lip silently, and nodded his head. "Thanks, Optimus." He finally replied softly "I actually think that could really help me..."

"Then I will repeat." Optimus replied, crouching down slightly "My doors are always open to my Autobots." He then added a firm "_Always_."

Mark felt his heart skip a beat at the realization that the leader did, truly, see him as an Autobot. As the titan of a mech slowly stood to his feet, he looked down upon the boy with a warm smile. "Now, I do believe it is time that you returned to recharge." Optimus told him gently "Hound often checks on you during the evening, and I can imagine he will panic if you're not in bed."

"Right." Mark nodded "Goodnight, Optimus."

"Goodnight, my young friend."

As the mech left, Mark sighed with relief, it did feel good to know Optimus was there for him. To know there was one more person he could go to for guidance when he needed it. And maybe with this newfound knowledge, he would be able to get a good nights sleep after all.


	35. Fun and Panic

MegsLittle: Replying here since you disabled your PM feature. Thank you very much for all your reviews and glad you are enjoying the story so far! :D

A/N: Holy crap, over 300 reviews! I am so flattered by the great feedback this story is getting, I know I say that a lot, but I really, really mean it. The amazing response really keeps me going big time with this fic! Especially given this has still got a ways to go. :3 So again, thank you all very much. :3

...

**CHAPTER 35  
Fun and Panic**

After the many black tie events that his father had made him go to, Mark was somewhat-relieved he could go in civilian clothing this time. The Autobots had been informed it was only a semi-formal event with the kids being dressed in their "Sunday best". But knowing that many of these kids didn't have the nice clothing he was provided with, so he had dressed appropriately in a plaid shirt with the top button unbuttoned and a nice pair of jeans. It was enough to make himself look presentable as a guest of honor, yet not enough to flaunt and make it look like he was above any of the other foster kids there.

It helped, of course, that the charity event was at a large park on the other side of town, meaning most were dressed in the same fashion. . Though, the other Autobots were understandingly parked nearby in case anything went wrong. "We are so, so honored that you could both make it." They were told by an older man for the fifth time that day as they followed him through the park, Hound in his holoform "Your unique story really brought tears to our eyes when we read it in the paper. How you Autobots took in a boy of..." He chose his next words carefully "An enemy."

Mark shrugged, not seeing how special it was exactly anymore. They hadn't taken him in for that reason, they had taken him in because they liked him, and what was more, Hound loved him. Hound however, put his arm around his foster son's shoulders, and nodded slowly. "Well... As Autobots, we don't discriminate based upon history." Hound explained "All that matters is your heart, or spark being in the right place. And I knew Mark's was from the moment I met him."

"You're overselling it." Mark tried to help, his voice low enough that only Hound would hear him.

Hound sighed, that was one thing he couldn't do. But he honestly could not help it, he was nervous. A lot was riding on this event and the last thing he wanted to do was screw it up. "What I was saying..." Hound "cleared' his throat "Was that Mark was a good kid, and a good kid deserves a good home. Something that I knew I could provide." He then added "There are enough people homeless or orphaned by our war, the most I could do was to see to it that one of them has a bright future ahead of them."

"With that extremely generous donation that NEST has made a lot more bright futures have been ensured too." The man nodded, a smile spreading on his face as they watched some smaller children running around in face paint "You're right, Mr. Hound, there are far too many orphaned and displaced children, even before you ever arrived." Hound nodded his head "It's my dream that someday we can find a permanent way to fix that."

Mark nodded his head at what the man was saying. He agreed with that definitely, he had only spent a short time on his own, but it was far from the highlight of his life. It had been lonely, quiet, and depressing, especially while he was getting over his father's death. He felt Hound squeeze him slightly, knowing that he must have dug into his thoughts, and smiled a bit. "Now, your ceremony will be in about four hours." The man announced "Until then, you're free to join in the fun, and please do."

As the man finally left them, Mark smiled and put his hands into his pockets. "So, what do you want to do first? I think I saw some carnival games a little further down, I bet that would be fun." He then added "I used to be the king of the dart game back when..."

Hound nodded his head, allowing Mark to lead him towards where the "carnival games" seemed to be. There turned out to be no dart game, so instead, Mark settled for a balloon popping race of some kind which involved shooting water into a painted clown sculptures mouth. "So were you pretty good at this game as well?" Hound asked as he stood behind Mark "Or do you want your sharpshooter of an old mech to try and win ye something?"

Mark shook his head. "No, Hound, trust me, I got this." Mark licked his lips with anticipation "Besides, my competition is a six year old, and a ten year old. You think I'm gonna lose?" He then added "Fat chance."

"There goes that humbleness of yours."

Mark gently smacked Hound's holoform in the chest, and laughed before the buzzer went off to start. Hound was quick to notice that the boy wasn't quite as good as he had wanted him to believe. He shook his head when, to his surprise, the six year old won, and was given a teddy bear in response. "Sharp reflexes there, boy." Hound chuckled as he ruffled Mark's hair slightly "If ye want, I can still give it a try."

"No way." Mark stood, laughing it off "These games are rigged anyway."

"Don't be a sore loser now." Hound stated as Mark stood and he placed both hands on his shoulders "C'mon, I think there's free music over there, you like music." Mark smiled a bit, noticing a stage with a small band playing "I think this will be a much less aggravating way to spend our time. And after this we can grab some of that junk food you love so much and see how much you can eat until you puke." He joked.

"First Aid would have a conniption."

"Eh, you're a kid. I give you permission to go crazy today."

"Thanks, I'm glad I got your permission." Mark stuck his tongue out, rushing off towards the band now.

Hound only chuckled before taking off after the young human. Perhaps today would go alright after all, and he was worried for absolutely nothing. Or at least, he hoped that would be the case.

...

It hadn't taken much for Mark to get full, an ice cream bar, cotton candy, funnel cake, and the like later. Hound was now convinced that the child had a second stomach, as he hadn't even complained about a stomach ache either. Yet, it was still fun to watch Mark run around, and have fun in a manner that he didn't always get to do on base. With the only downer being that he had so called "rage quit" trying to win any of the "rigged" carnival games after an unending losing streak and much laughter between the two later.

Being honored was probably the hardest part of the entire day, but luckily it was a short affair. The man from before had gotten up on a podium that was set up and talked briefly about why they were there. At this point, for emphasis, Hound was standing in his bipedal robotic form, with Mark at his side. After the words were spoken, Hound was asked to say a few words, and spoke briefly on the importance of the program before stepping down to an applause of his own, at which point, they were presented a small plaque and it was finally over, with the rest of the event continuing on once more.

"So, now what do we do?" Mark asked as Hound deposited the plaque in his subspace and they began to walk away "We still have all day off at base, right?"

Hound nodded his head for a moment, his optics softening. "Perhaps we can take advantage of it. After this, I'll take you out to dinner, we've never done that before." Hound explained "And then, maybe..." He stopped mid-sentence as his optics shot up "Oh no..."

"Hound?" Mark stopped in his tracks "What's the matter?"

"Decepticons..." Hound growled, his eyes moving up to the sky.

"Hound, today isn't supposed to be-."

"DECEPTICONS!"

Before Mark knew what was happening, the large hulking form of Hound was on top of him. The sound of a missile crashing into metal stunned him. But Hound quickly turned to see the approaching form of a large jet, but it didn't look like Cyclonus, but rather had a blue and red paint scheme.. "Holy crap, who is that?" Mark replied, looking around as he saw two more jets flanking it "There are more fliers?" He turned, and looked around as chaos was seemingly breaking out.

"Mark, run. Help the adults get the kids out of here, and keep your head down."

"R-Right. What about you?" Mark asked wearily.

"Forget me! This is a targeted strike on the kids!" Hound stated as he brought out one of his submachine guns "The last thing we need is you or any other civilian getting hurt." He quickly activated his comm link and shouted into it "HOUND TO AUTOBOTS! The Decepticons are here and opening fire at the park! I need back-up, ASAP! Sideswipe get your aft over here and get Mark OUT of the battle zone!"

A blast hit his shoulder, surprising him as he brought out a large cannon next firing at the now transformed seeker. "It's a pity I'm here under orders." The mech mused "I always did find the fleshies of this planet interesting. I'd even considered taking one as a pet."

As the seeker locked optics with Hound, the mech quickly recognized him. "THUNDERCRACKER!" Hound shouted in surprise "Leave the humans out of this! There are innocent _sparklings_ here." He then added "Can't you find your moral compass and realize how many children could die here today?"

Hound watched the two Decepticons still circling as he realized it was the mech's brothers, Skywarp and Dirge. "Sorry, Hound..." Thundercracker sneered, firing off one of his own cannons "I left my "moral compass" at the door today!"

As Hound charged and fired off a volley of shots, the other Autobots tore down the road and into the park. By now, there were vehicons on the approach too, opening fire on the area, and causing many humans to become trapped. The whole situation terrified Mark, he had never been in the middle of an Autobot battlefield before, but now here he was, smack-dab in the middle with a cluster of kids he had gathered. "Come on, come on, we gotta go!" He stated, noting as one of the little girls took his hand, and they burst into a run across the field, avoiding blaster fire and gunfire alike "Crap." He muttered as a vehicon turned on him about to fire his cannon off.

It never got the chance, as a pair of blades struck it deep in the chest, and flipped it over. Mark quickly caught sight of Drift, who ripped his weapons out. "Mark, go! All of you! I'll clear a path as best I can." He quickly struck down several more vehicons, keeping close to the retreating children "Mark, when you get out of the park, immediately find Sideswipe!"

"There are still people in there!" Mark shouted.

"If the Decepticons find you, we can't be guaranteed to protect you!" Drift shouted as he made it to the edge of the park, Mark turned his head back at Drift "We'll be fine, Markus-kun! Get to safety."

Mark took a deep breath, and lead the kids to a waiting van in the parking lot. The door opened as several social workers helped the kids inside. Mark's breath became labored as he turned to see several other kids and adults trying to escape. But what amazed him was that the Autobots didn't waste a second in protecting them. Covering them from fire, and in some cases (including Optimus) using their own bodies to shield to shield anyone from the blast. Bumblebee even went as far as to scoop up a large group of humans and carry them away himself amidst the gunfire.

"Kid, get in." The driver spoke "We have to get you out of here too!"

"I'm with the Autobots." Mark breathed out "I need to find my guardian. You just get them out of here."

The driver looked ready to argue, but Mark was already on the run across the parking lot. He searched for any sign of the silver Autobot, but quickly found that he was still in the throng of the battle, within the park. "SIDESWIPE!" He shouted, or at least attempted to shout, over the gunfire as he rushed towards the mech "SIDES! OVER HERE!"

His ears suddenly rang and he was thrown through the air, landing hard on his side as he cried out in pain. As he turned around to see the large bit of destroyed Earth, he was very thankful that whatever did it hadn't hit him. "Well, well, well..." Mark felt a chill up his spine as he turned his head towards the voice, and found himself facing a tall red Decepticon "What do we have here? You look familiar kid, kinda like the kid on the podium over there, am I right?"

Mark didn't answer, he quickly pulled himself to his feet and began to run. He didn't get farther than a couple of feet before cold, metal talons wrapped around his waist, causing him to cry out in fear. "Let me go! Let me go you giant FREAK!" Mark shouted as he struggled in the mechs tight grip "SIDESWIPE! HOUND! HELP ME!" He screamed.

Knock Out chuckled a bit as the boy struggled, his screams getting louder and louder. "Yeah, you definitely _are _the Autobots pet alright." He sneered slightly "Why don't we go for a little ride to go and see Galvatron, eh, _Mark_?" He asked "I know Lord Galvatron has been _dying _to meet you!"

"Put him down!"

Knock Out turned to see the rapidly approaching form of Hound, who looked furious, trudging up the hill. Knock Out groaned, had Thundercracker already failed to keep him at bay? Knock Out growled a little, holding Mark against his chestplate. "Looks like it's time to get this show on the road, Markie boy." He stated as he began the slow transformation down into an Aston Martin, once inside, Mark was trapped by the seatbelts in the driver's seat, which tightened violently "Hold onto something, I can guarantee it's going to be a bumpy ride."

As Knock Out floored the gas, Hound's optics widened. First looking over at Knock Out, then back at the ensuing battle. Could he leave his comrades? Better yet, could he knowingly stand by and watch his foster son be carried off to their worst enemy? "PRIME! A Decepticon has taken off with Mark in-towe." Hound shouted into his comm link "Permission to pursue!"

_"Granted." _Optimus didn't even take more than a moment to reply _"We'll hold the Decepticons off here!" _

Hound didn't bother with an "affirmative" in response, he transformed down quickly, and floored his own gas. Taking off in fury, and hoping that he could catch up with the Decepticon speedster before it was too late.


	36. The Chase

**CHAPTER 36  
The Chase**

When being held captive by an Aston Martin, apparently, the first reaction to your screams of terror is for it to hit you over the head with their holoform. Mark looked up, dazed at the red haired man that sat over him now, putting a pair of small Cybertronian cuffs from his glovebox around his ankles. The mech had already bound his wrists behind his back, stating this was much more efficient than seatbelts, and it was, Mark couldn't move. Knock Out had lost Hound for the moment, and stopped in an alleyway in order to bind up his captive, whose struggling would not bode well for Galvatron. "Quit squirming!" Knock Out snapped as Mark tried to kick out "Didn't your owners ever teach you manners?"

"He's my foster dad you stupid sorry piece of-!"

Before he could finish a device had inserted itself in his open mouth. It coiled around the edges of both the inside and outside and forced him to clench. On the surface a large metal muzzle covered his mouth, only allowing him to breathe out of his nose now. "Ah hello silence, my old friend." Mark groaned as Knock Out tossed him into the back seat of his alt mode "You're lucky our orders were to take you in alive if you were there... If they weren't I'd have killed you for the curses you've thrown at me."

Alive? Orders? So the Decepticons did want him after all. Not that Mark was all that surprised, he was probably the perfect hostage for them. Someone close enough that he was family to the Autobots, someone who they could use to bend Hound and the others to do their every whim. "Ahem." Knock Out opened up the comm channel "Lord Galvatron, I've acquired a _present _for you." He then added "A little one all wrapped up nice and tight."

_"The boy?" _

"Yes, my liege, the Autobot's precious human pet." He felt as the boy kicked at his windows in vain, but mostly ignored the nuisance "I've been followed away from the ambush site, however. The old one seems very possessive of his property, I barely shook him after about a half an hour." He then added "Shall I proceed to bring him to base?"

_"Of course you should! The Autobots are probably hunting you as we speak. Bring the boy to **me**." _Galavatron snapped _"We're going to have a rather fun playdate, if I do say so myself."_

"Of course my liege." As Knock Out disconnected, he groaned "I grab the prize and yet he still treats me with NO respect." Mark felt as he was tipped until he was sitting straight up, a seatbelt going tightly over him for good measure "Do you get respect among the Autobots? Oh who am I kidding! You're a pet, pet's don't get "respect"."

Mark lunged, but soon was shot back by the seat belts as Knock Out pulled out of the alleyway. Not more than a second after he'd exited, the sound of police sirens filled Mark's ears, his eyes peering over at the police cruiser headed their way. _PROWL! _Mark thought with relief, even as Knock Out floored his engine again, cursing to himself.

Knock Out clearly noticed as the human's eyes lit up, and chuckled. "Don't look so happy. Sure, the fight back at the park is likely over, but I've got overhead cover." Knock Out teased, as Mark noticed what he meant, the blue and red jet was flying slowly into view overhead "You're not going anywhere, kid. I don't plan on going to Galvatron empty-handed. So either you or your head are coming back with me."

A blast nearly sent Knock Out toppling over, and the mech groaned. "Slag, change of plans." Knock Out grunted, as he used a small device to retract the gag and the cuffs "Don't get too excited." The mech's holoform disappeared as he transformed, grasping Mark in his hand again, his other turning into a blaster "I just need you more free if I'm going to keep you in one piece for Galvatron."

Mark quickly saw what he meant as Bumblebee rushed down one end of the street, sending off blasts at Knock Out. "Thunercracker! Handle the bug for me! I don't have time for one-on-one combat!" Knock Out quickly leapt and latched onto one of the large buildings, climbing up as through the windows humans scattered in every direction "Y'know, you're a lot of trouble, kid." He noted as he set Mark on his shoulder, knowing the boy was forced to cling onto it or fall to a horrible death.

As the mech climbed, Mark cried quietly, he had never been so scared in his life. Sure, the Autobots were in pursuit, but he could see as Thundercracker and Skywarp began to open fire upon and attack Prowl and Bumblebee. Clearly, the battle at the park must have been over, but now even more people were liable to lose their lives. Again, he could see the Autobots motioning humans to safety however between blasts at the two seekers. But most of all, he wondered where Hound was. Why was he not still pursuing the mech?

As they reached the rooftop, Knock Out yet again put Mark in his grip. "Why are you doing this?" Mark asked now that he was able to speak again, Knock Out eyed him slightly "What does Galvatron want from me?"

"Nothing, yet." Knock Out chuckled "But did you really think we were going to let something so precious to the Autobots GO?" He gave a sly grin as he ran a small distance and jumped onto the next rooftop "Ah, this looks like a good place to outrun 'em."

With that, Knock Out lept from the small building and into another alley, which seemed to veer one way and then the other. Like a thief that had just stolen a diamond, Knock Out kept his optics on the lookout, prepared at any moment to be blindsided by an Autobot who wished to take back his prize. But when he finally stepped out into the street again, what Hound did could not be described as blindsiding him, but rather as an ambush. The taller, more powerful mech slammed the full weight of his body into Knock Out sending him toppling over, but with his grip still tight around Mark.

"Let. My. Son. GO." Hound shouted as Knock Out raised himself slowly to his feet "**NOW**!"

Hound sounded angrier than Mark had ever heard him in his life, and it almost made him shudder. Yet Knock Out did not relent, in fact, he began to toss Mark up and down lightly like a pair of dice and chuckle. "I have to admit, old mech, I'm impressed." Knock Out noted "The lengths that you will go to protect your precious little pet amazes me."

Hound brought out one of the biggest and most powerful guns his arsenal packed, pointing it straight at the Decepticon. "I'm not going to ask you again, Knock Out. Let my son go or I will blow that slagging grin off yer face."

For a moment, Knock Out tilted his head, as if considering it. "Ehhhhhh, no."

Mark didn't even notice that Knock Out had pulled his own, large gun just in the nick of time. The blast he shot collided with Hound's side, and the mech fell onto his knee, energon pooling out slowly. It was in this moment of shock and fear, as Knock Out began to transform down that Mark screamed a word that stunned even himself. "_DAD, no!_"

Hound's optics shot up as Mark said it, and even the human was shocked. The word had come out so fast that Mark hadn't had time to think it out, it'd almost felt natural, like he'd been saying it for years. And to Hound, it was the extra drive he needed to suck in the pain that filled his body and transform down as well, this time, pushing faster than he'd even thought himself capable. Knock Out, by now annoyed by Autobot interference swerved through the streets, making sure to keep what remained of his paint job mostly in-tact.

But Hound was not playing games either, he was closing in faster than Knock Out had ever seen a mech his size move. And an angry mech moving as fast as Hound was, was most definitely a dangerous thing. Mark breathed out, and looked down at the radio. "My dad is so gonna kick your ass." Mark muttered quietly.

"Shut up." Knock Out snarled as he sent the seat forward, causing Mark's head to hit the dashboard "Thundercracker, where the pit is Dirge!? I have Hound closing in on my tail and I can't shake him!"

_"Shot down by Prime. I'll try to get to your co-ordinates K.O., but I don't think that's going to be a possibility. We're taking heavy fire too!"_

"Frag it all!"

The passengers side door flew open and Mark found himself quickly hitting the pavement as Knock Out transformed up. Hound did so next, rushing forward, and slamming his fist so hard into his jaw that Knock Out nearly went down. The small, but agile fighter began to swing several more punches at Hound, but found that he was a force to be reckoned with. The mech tore at his armor, and threw him to the ground before quickly making himself a living, snarling wall between Knock Out and Mark. "FRAG IT ALL! MY PAINTJOB!" Knock Out screamed "Do you realize the hours of work!"

Hound fired several blasts from a rifle into Knock Out to show just how much he cared. "You think picking on kids is fun? You think you're taking my son without a fight?" He shouted "**COWARDS** take sparklings to use against their parents. And cowards most definitely open fire on a park filled with innocent younglings who did nothing but exist."

"They were orders from GALVATRON." Knock Out shouted "We're in a war, if you're asked to fight dirty, you fight DIRTY."

That one got Knock Out a kick straight to the helm. Pain shot through the Decepticon as he fought to keep himself out of stasis lock, but he knew it would come anyway. "Prime, I have Mark secure, and one fragged up pit spawn for the med bay and brig." Hound commed in as he slowly took Mark into his palm and lifted the tired and somewhat battered boy up "Hey... You okay?"

"I was so scared, Hound. I thought they actually had me-."

"I know... Easy, Mark. You're okay now." Hound told him gently as he sighed with relief "They're never going to take you on my watch, I won't allow it." He paused a moment "Your _dad _won't allow that anymore." Mark gave a smile, although exhausted, as he noticed in the sky that the two jets from before were retreating "You'll be happy to know we got no casualties, we were there in the nick of time."

"You guys are gonna be heroes again after all of this." Mark chuckled weakly "Someone must have gotten footage of all of that. You guys put your life on the line for all of those people." He looked up at him, exhausted, but his eyes full of surprise "You took a missile for me."

Hound nodded his head, a smile spreading on his face. "You're my son, Mark. I'd gladly take an **atomic bomb **for you." Hound said it with such firmness that Mark didn't doubt it "I'm not even concerned about what the public says anymore. I cared far more about making sure that he didn't hurt you." He could see the other Autobots driving down the street just as news vans were arriving as well "Aw, slag."

What he next heard, stunned him more than he expected. As one of the reporters stepped out, camera already rolling, her words echoed. "I am here with the Autobots, just moments after an attack by their enemies - the Decepticons." The reporter began "Footage already leaked to the public reveals these once condemned soldiers in their everyday heroic deeds. With many taking gunfire, missiles, and the like for a group gathered for a charity even at Lincoln Park this evening before the battle reached the rest of our well-protected city." Mark grinned up at Hound at that "With many injured, but no fatalities, it would seem this town, and perhaps, the world, owes a great deal of gratitude to these unsung heroes..."

"I can't wait to see Coulton's reaction to that." Mark chuckled lightly, his eyes growing heavy.

"Get some rest, kid." Hound told him gently "You've had a long day... And your body will desperately need it."

Despite the chaos as Prowl slipped stasis cuffs upon Knock Out and several reporters moved in for a statement, Mark slowly did just that. Hound sighed in relief, even if the day was a disaster, at least some good had come of it, and Mark was still safely in his custody. Yet, this also confirmed his worst fears, the thing that made his spark tighten and his wires twist. Galvatron did want Mark, whether it were now, or later, and he knew that the Decepticon leader would do anything to get what he wanted.

"Hound, we should get going." Sideswipe offered, as he noted the NEST soldiers that finally pulled up, with a large one to tow Knock Out "You want me to take Mark? I feel terrible not being able to get to him in time." He admitted "They almost had him, and I..."

"There was nothing you could do. Either way he had him." Hound offered "But no, I think for the moment, Mark is not leaving my sight."

"Right." Sidesewipe nodded "Just... Next time..."

"Sideswipe, relax." Hound replied "If you feel bad then here. Help him into my passengers seat."

And Sideswipe did after Hound had transformed, even with the look of guilt that still seemed to be etched on his faceplates. As Sideswipe transformed as well, they both left the row of reporters behind, to deal with Lennox, who was currently addressing them. While they may have been heroes to the city now, Hound knew they had a lot of explaining to do. If Dana hadn't stated that the whole being captured thing was something they were aware would likely happen and would not result in Mark being taken away, he may have been more nervous.

But none-the-less, he still had a feeling many people were not going to be happy to hear this. And to give himself a hint, that person's name was David Coulton.

...

A/N: Welp, hell hath no fury than a papa wolf protecting his cub. LOL This chapter really could have gone either way, and I sat on it a while whether or not this would be an action chapter, or if Mark would be taken to Galvatron. Ultimately, I think we need more action chapters so I went this route. At least for now.


	37. A Sense of Belonging

HAPPINESS: Well thank you very much! I'm so glad that you find such enjoyment in this story. :D

HELLO: I really appreciate your constructive criticism and want to thank you for making me aware of this stuff. I appreciate it, and will try to work on all of it as best as I can. :)

SHADOWLEADER: I know, I'm still stunned about it myself! XD Glad you're enjoying it so far! :)

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**CHAPTER 37  
A Sense of Belonging**

In fact, they didn't have to worry about Mark being taken away at all. By the next day, the world had blown up over the news of what the Autobots had done. Both in order to protect the group in that charity event, and ultimately to save "the foster son of one". It had in fact blown up to a point where Mark could only guess the implosion and backfire that social services would get if they decided to take him away. Needless to say, they never heard a peep from them while Mark was inspected in the med bay, to the day following the chaos.

Luckily for him, Mark's injuries were minor, with a few cracked ribs and bruises being the only things noteworthy. Most of the Autobots still worried, with Sideswipe refusing to leave his side the first twenty-four hours, and Grimlock having to be calmed after seeing the state that his young friend was in. Grimlock himself had actually woken Mark up, and to say the sight of a t-rex on a near-rampage was frightening might have been the understatement of the year. Yet, things calmed down the day after, with Grimlock at the very least calmed down, and most of NEST having relaxed as well.

Mark quickly noted that morning that Knock Out hadn't been released from the med bay when he and Hound passed it. "Dad?"

Hound smiled widely, his spark warming a little. Mark had settled into calling him the term ever since it had slipped out the day prior. With the exception being when he was in his exhausted state after the battle, of course. The word was music to his audio receptors to hear again, even if it still surprised him to hear it out of the boy. "Mmmm," Hound replied. "What is it?"

"That 'Con," Mark paused, his eyes barely lifting up to the mech. "What are you guys going to do with him?"

Hound growled a little at the mention of Knock Out, still not over what he had done. "Keep him in stasis cuffs until he's healed, then lock him up securely in an underground brig," Hound explained, his optics softening as he stared down at the boy. "Don't give him any thought, Mark," Hound explained."He can't touch you as long as we're around."

"Yeah, I definitely don't doubt that now that I've seen you guys in action," Mark gave a small laugh. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a badass, dad? Because I'm pretty sure I've never seen someone kick that much butt."

"A time or two," Hound teased, with his smile widening. "You do know you're still calling me dad, right?"

Mark frowned a little, he _was_ still calling Hound dad. But after the day prior, he honestly felt that the mech had earned the title. Even with all his hatred of the Autobots, he was almost certain that his biological father would have agreed. "Yeah, I am," Mark chuckled nervously as he rubbed his sore arm. "Are you okay with that? I know I never did before..."

"Mark," Hound stopped him. "I've been waiting for ye to call me the human word for "sire" since the day that you came home."

Mark blushed, but mostly just nodded his head in response. "Well, it took me a while to kinda grasp the idea," Mark admitted solemnly, his eyes retreating back to the ground. "You know, for a while, I thought my dad would be mad at me for replacing him." He explained quietly.

"I don't want to replace your father, Mark."

"I know, that's what I realized," Mark looked up at Hound slowly. "You're not trying to replace my dad, and you probably never will. But you can still be my dad, you can still be the guy that tucks me in at night and makes me feel safe," Mark stopped and so did Hound, who looked at him with surprise and wonder his optics. "Because you already do, every time I'm with you, I feel safe, loved, and protected."

Hound nodded his head, his optics softening as he thought about it. After all this time, he was a "sire" again, even if a new word was, understandably, involved. With a long sigh, he carefully picked up the young human and set him on his shoulder again. "Well, you should," Hound replied. "If you don't then I'm not really doing my job."

Mark sighed, leaning against the crook of Hound's neck. Something about calling Hound "dad" really solidified their relationship for him. It felt as though for the first time in a long while, he truly felt like he was at home in the NEST base. "So, have you guys seen Coulton around," Mark asked, his eyes lifting up to him. "I feel like he's been just a little TOO quiet."

Hound frowned slightly, his optics filled with a level of worry. He hadn't heard a peep from the government official since the entire incident at the park. And that was disturbingly unlike him to do. Surely, he would have at least _tried _to get Mark taken away. Did this mean he had given up? He doubted it, being the man had barely let up on them yet. "No," Hound finally replied with a hint of frustration. "And quite frankly I don't like it. If I know that man, and I do," Hound grimaced. "Then it could mean nothing good."

Mark frowned as well, especially as he heard the "tip, tap" of shoes. It was that moment that Mark remembered that speaking of the devil DID let him appear. Coulton took a few steps forward towards them, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "If you're here to take me away, you're probably gonna have to go through Grimlock," Mark told him with blunt honesty. "And I don't know if you want to go through a hundred foot T-rex that we JUST got calmed down after yesterday."

Coulton grimaced, his eyes averting his gaze slightly. "I already talked to social services. All things considered they CAN'T take you away," Coulton replied cooly, his eyes now returning to look up at them "They say since it's an occupational hazard they talked about... Well, it'd be like taking away the child of a police officer, or firefighter," Mark smirked almost smugly at him. "But if you ask me, this just proves that you're a terrible parent for him."

"Mr. Coulton, Mark is still here," Hound motioned with his hand towards Mark. "We all put our slagging lives on the line to save him. And guess what," Coulton growled as Hound continued. "We did. So I suggest you take your bigotry somewhere else. I'm frankly tired of listening to it."

Coulton noticed rather quickly that Mark wasn't taking his crap anymore either. Mark had stood to his feet, and crossed his arms with a frown. "Well then, you get a little good publicity and it goes to your head. I see how it is," Coulton snarked, rolling his eyes "It still doesn't change the fact that you don't belong here," He pointed at Mark, then at Hound "And that you and your kind definitely don't belong here."

"How did you even get the liaison job Coulton," Mark asked with a grunt "Had they already scraped the bottom of the barrel?"

Coulton definitely looked angry at that comment, but bit back a retort. His eyes traveled up towards Hound, and then he threw his hands up slightly. It was clear that he wasn't getting to the two of them today, but he knew someday, he would. "Alright, you got lucky once, congratulations," Coulton sneered slightly. "We'll see if you get so lucky next time, eh? Mr. Savoy."

With that Coulton walked off, much to Mark's relief. His eyes traveled back up towards his foster father with a nervousness in his eyes. "You don't actually think there's going to be a next time," Mark questioned. "Right?"

Every inch of Hound's body tensed at the thought of Mark getting taken again. Next time, who knew if the Autobots would even be around to save him in time. Hound raised his finger up towards Mark, and rubbed him gingerly. "Over my offlined chassis," He told him without any hesitation. "If anyone comes after you again, they're going to wish they were in as good of shape as Knock Out."

Mark grinned from ear-to-ear, even though he twitched only slightly at the mental image. He had no doubt about that threat anymore, not after he had seen the mech in action. "Alright, enough talk about this today," Hound told him, less than willing to talk more about it. "I have work to get to in a couple of minutes," He picked the boy up and set him on the ground. "Care to join me in the rec room for some video games later? I'm due to get my aft kicked in Super Smash Bros. by you again."

"Definitely," Mark nodded "Catch you later, dad?"

"Of course."

And with that, Mark was actually alone for the first time since the incident the other day. And to say the least, he was thankful for that much. As he turned around, Mark started towards the other side of the base. "You're just a burden to them, you know that," Mark stopped as he heard Coulton's voice. "They had to stage a whole rescue mission for you right after an attack," Mark's face fell a little at that. "I bet they're resenting taking you in just a little bit right about now."

"You're wrong," Mark grunted, as his eyes narrowed.

"Am I? You're not one of them, kid, you never will be," Coulton sneered as he walked closer to Mark. "You're just the trash that they picked up off the streets. Something to get rid of their guilty conscious after what happened to your father," At this point, Mark's brow started to furrow. "You think you're special? That you really mean _anything _to them?"

"I do!"

"You're an even bigger idiot than I thought you were," As Coulton started off again, Mark moved to throw a punch. "Go ahead, get yourself arrested and thrown off the base. I'll be happy to see them take you away in handcuffs," He looked over his shoulder with a wide smirk. "Probably what you'll end up like too. Just like your old man would have if he hadn't gotten-."

"You human be QUIET!"

Mark nearly jumped out of his skin as the loud rumble signified Grimlock's entrance. And by the looks of the other Dinobots nearby, he wasn't alone either. Coulton visibly tensed as he backed up slightly. "Grimlock," Coulton pointed to him. "By order of the NEST treaty you are not allowed to hurt me. Optimus sure as hell wouldn't like it."

"Him Optimus not boss of me Grimlock," Grimlock growled lowly, bringing his head close to Coulton's body "Me Grimlock boss of me Grimlock. And me Grimlock no like how you human talk to me Grimlock's friend," It was at this point that the growl became a very, very frightening snarl. "Me Grimlock say you human LEAVE. HIM. MARK. ALONE."

Coulton barely had time to jump out of the way as Grimlock shot a breath of fire inches from his feet. Mark grinned, his eyes looking up at the Dinobot leader. It was obvious that the mech wasn't backing down. And if the way that Coulton's legs were wobbling, he definitely had won the argument. "Alright, alright," Coulton's voice trembled. "I'll leave him alone, I swear to God."

"LEAVE. NOW."

As Grimlock snapped his jaws closed inches from his face, Coulton shrieked. The man couldn't run away fast enough, his shrieks like that of an animal. Mark grinned as Grimlock chased him off a few more feet before being satisfied. As the T-rex approached, Mark could practically feel the anger in how violently the ground shook. "Thanks Grimlock," Mark smiled, his voice filled with surprise. "That was AWESOME."

"Him human talk to you Mark like that again," Grimlock lowered his head to his young friend. "You Mark get me Grimlock. Me Grimlock barbecue him human."

As Grimlock trudged off to return to his fellow Dinobots, Mark sighed with relief. If he hadn't been convinced Coulton was wrong before, he was now. This was home, this was family, and this was definitely where he belonged.

...

A/N: I'd been waiting for the chance to write Grimlock vs Coulton for a while now. Glad I finally got the chance to.


	38. Brotherly Help

KATNIP: Haha yes indeed! Glad you're excited! :D

KEACDRAGON: Thanks, glad you liked it!

A/N: HOLY CRAP. 21 reviews last chapter? Wow, you guys literally have no idea how surprised I was. We've nearly hit 400 reviews and it surprises me to no end! Once again, I just wanted to thank you all for your amazing support. It really is what keeps me going. :)

PAIRINGS: We have added a new pairing as of this chapter. I decided to throw a mention of my OTP SideswipexArcee in here. So that's officially a "mentioned" couple in the fic.

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**CHAPTER 38  
Brotherly Help**

Coulton had made a good effort to avoid Mark after that day with Grimlock. Even in the hallways, Coulton would make a point to turn around and head down another way. It made Mark feel much more comfortable, especially given he was still getting over his near-abduction. More than once, Mark had woken up from sleep in a deep sweat and Hound's holoform over him assuring him he was okay. It was hard not to relive every second of that battle and chase, after all, he was only a kid, and it had been exceptionally terrifying.

Lucky for him, Hound didn't seem to mind waking from recharge to comfort him. Telling him very politely that they all had nightmares about one battle or another. It was comforting most nights to have Hound beside him. Especially when he'd stroke his back and hum him to sleep in a pleasant, melodic fashion. Luckily for him, however, things seemed to be calming down slowly and he hoped soon, the nightmares would cease entirely. Even if Hound had told him that chances were, these nightmares would be reoccurring for life, as were his of the war.

For the most part, life returned to normal at base as well. Though the news still reported of the Autobots good deeds, and even a few reports on him and Hound. Mark still didn't know what it was like to be a "star", but it felt dang near close to it. Or at least, it did in his fourteen year old mind. "So," Mark turned his head as Sideswipe rolled up beside him in the in the main hangar. "You called for a ride?"

Mark took a deep breath, straightening his t-shirt a little in response. He _had _asked for a ride, though he didn't want anyone else on base to know it yet. Though Maria and him were just going out as friends that day, he didn't want anyone prying. He knew questions would be asked. Questions that would probably end in overprotectiveness, and he didn't need that right now. "Keep it down, will you," Mark insisted quietly. "If dad, Lennox, or Epps hear you, they're going to ask questions."

"About you wanting a ride?" Sideswipe asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm your guardian, kid. I'm supposed to drive you places," Mark seemed to blush a bit, and fiddle around with his hair. "Wait a minute, I know that look. I used to have it whenever I pulled a fast one on Red Alert," Sideswipe tilted his head with a grin on his face. "You're going on a date with that femme from school, aren't you?"

"It's not a date," Mark shouted. "She just asked me to go see that new Doctor Strange movie. As friends," Mark insisted, though Sideswipe's grin told him he wasn't buying it. "Sides, if you blow this for me, I swear to God," Mark was getting frustrated now. "I really like this girl, but it's not a date. We're just friends, nothing more, nothing less."

Sideswipe carefully began to tap Mark on the side, his grin widening. It was clear that he was enjoying this, especially as he spun around the boy on his wheels. "You like her, you like her," Sideswipe chided childishly. "Oh boy, if you start dating she's going to have to go through so much interrogation," Mark's eye twitched ever so slightly at the notion. "Does she even know who your family is?"

"Sides, if you don't stop talking so loud," Mark began with a hint of extreme frustration. "I swear, I am going to find someone willing to paint you hot pink. And there will be unicorns involved," Sideswipe's optics looked as though Mark had just served him a death sentence. "Now, will you give me a ride to the theater? Or are you going to be immature about this?"

Sideswipe hung his arms slightly in disappointment, clearly he had been enjoying himself. He rubbed the back of his helm and sighed before transforming down into his Corvette form. The door popped open and his holform appeared in the driver's seat with a crackle of electricity. "Finnneeeee," Sideswipe whined as Mark climbed in. "You're hanging around Hound too much. You're getting touchy."

"I'm just nervous," Mark muttered as the door closed and Sideswipe began to drive. "I do like this girl, Sides. But I'm not sure I like her THAT way yet," He explained as the holoform looked at him in confusion. "I've got so much going on that I'm just not sure I'm ready for a relationship. Y'know?" He asked, his eyes moving to look out the passengers seat window.

Sideswipe shrugged his shoulders and leaned back as he drove. "When I was your age, I didn't care much about that stuff either," Mark looked over at him, surprised. "Most I cared about was interfacing and having fun. But now I wish I had had more relationships," Mark chuckled a bit at that. "No seriously, I'd like to have a bondmate and sparklings someday."

"I agree with Mirage when you were all drunk," Mark admitted in jest. "The world isn't ready to meet your kids yet, Sides."

Sideswipe slugged Mark slightly for that one, though he smirked. Of course Mark was right, Sideswipe was still too young for that probably. But it didn't change the fact he had learned how much he liked spending time with kids. "Yeah, well, someday you will," Sideswipe replied. "And if Arcee were still functioning, you might have met them sooner than you thought you would."

"You had a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, we lost her and her sisters in Egypt, though," Sideswipe explained as he pulled to a stop in front of the local theater. "I don't talk about it much. I was going to ask her to bond with me afterward, and well... Yeah," The mech shifted uncomfortably and the door swung open for Mark to climb out. "A word of advice kid? If you like this girl, there's no time like the present to tell her."

"Right..." Mark nodded.

"And just be yourself," Sideswipe told him. "If it ends up being a date, I expect details."

Mark only gulped as he stepped out of the car, and let Sideswipe drive to a spot in the parking lot. What was the worst that could happen? Today would be fun, he told himself. He'd have a good time. If the nerves didn't kill him first.

...

"Well I'll give that movie one thing," Maria commented as they came out of the theater. "It definitely was "strange"."

Mark laughed a little, even if he did enjoy the movie. He understood that most people weren't into the more obscure superheroes even so. Yet, as a comic book fan, he couldn't help but love it. "You're not really into superheroes, are you?" Mark questioned, as Maria shook her head. "Why did you ask me to go then? I could have seen something different with you."

Maria shrugged at him, but gave a smile. "After what happened the other day," Maria began to admit. "I figured you could use a little time out of the base. I mean when you talked about it on the phone," She shuddered a little. "The whole thing sounded like something out of a nightmare."

Mark couldn't help but blush at that. The fact that she had even thought about it made his heart swell, even just a little. He put his hands in his pockets and nodded his head. "Well, I definitely had fun tonight," He finally replied. "I mean the movie was kinda what I was expecting. Considering what the other Phase Three movies have been like." Maria raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I forgot. You probably have no idea what I'm talking about."

"To be honest, tonight you last me after "Thor"," Maria giggled. "And you only had me there because Chris Hemsworth is HOT."

"I should get you the complete Marvel Encylcopedia."

"That was the first and last Marvel movie I'm seeing," Maria teased. "I think that I'm okay with just sticking to who looks the hottest," Mark burst out laughing at that. "What? Like you don't think Scarlet Johansen is hot? I bet that's the only thing you think whenever she comes on-screen."

Well, she definitely had Mark there, given he _was_ a teenage boy. Instead of answering however, he simply whistled a little. Quickly noticing that Sideswipe had come a little closer in the parking lot, clearly to eavesdrop. "Is that your guardian?" Maria questioned as she pointed at him. "Wow, that corvette is hot," Mark began to reply when she walked over "I bet you can break the sound barrier in this baby, eh?"

Sideswipe seemed to chuckle, moving back a bit. Clearly, Maria knew the way into Sideswipe's spark. "You know it," Sideswipe replied proudly. "We can break the sound barrier in just about any sports car form, actually," He explained. "You must be Maria, the name's Sideswipe."

"Yeah, I know. Mark talks about you all the time," Maria nodded in response. "Tells me you can pull the best pranks around," Mark watched them curiously. "One time, I painted my dad's monster truck pink and blamed my brother. That's my big call to "pranking fame"," Sideswipe laughed a little at the mental image. "He threw a conniption too. I was grounded for like a month."

"Okay Mark, she's cool, I approve," Mark nearly chucked a nearby rock at him for that comment. "What? Now what did I do?" Mark started to approach Sideswipe, glaring daggers. "All I'm saying is, she's hot, she knows cars and pranks, and she's single..."

Mark kicked him slightly against the grill. "Shut up," Mark hissed. "She's going to think I'm some crazy nutso freak if she hears that." He added with a scowl. "Now's not exactly the time to be telling her I like her."

"So you _do _like her!"

"Boys," Sideswipe's holoform and Mark both turned to Maria. "You do know I can hear you from all the way over here, right?" She stated, motioning the fact they were only a few inches away. "And for the record, I don't think you're a crazy, nutso freak."

Mark rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh before taking a big gulp. He looked at Sideswipe with narrowed eyes, but the mech seemed to only hum innocently. "I swear Sides, I love you like a brother. But you're going to be the death of me," Mark muttered under his breath before turning back to Maria. "So, now that I'm done being completely humiliated by this bucket of bolts," He began. "Do you want to maybe go grab some dinner, or something?"

Mark almost died of embarrassment as the tune "Take Me Home Tonight" played from Sideswipe's speakers. Maria, for her part, laughed and approached him casually with a wide smile. "Sure, why not," She replied smoothly. "I'm not about to turn down the offer of getting to ride in a top-of-the-line corvette." She added rather cooly. "Just let me call my parents and let them know I'm going to be a little late."

As Maria walked off, Mark turned to Sideswipe, who had turned off the song. "So now you're stealing Bumblebee's thing?" Mark asked with a groan.

"Kid, you're getting time alone with her," Sideswipe replied. "It's not a date, sure. But this is a start, isn't it?" Mark blushed a little, still not quite sure. "So, by the end of the night, you can ask her out," He stated flatly. "Put the moves on her, get a date."

"You really think I stand a chance?"

"A kid like you," Sideswipe replied, his voice filled with sincerity. "Is going to make some lucky femme happy," The blush that filled Mark's face only grew redder. "So, what are you waiting for? She's headed this way," Sideswipe drove forward, and nudged him gently. "Get the door for her, Romeo," Mark moved for the passengers side. "You're not a designated driver. Back seat, so you two are closer."

For emphasis, Sideswipe popped open one door as Mark rushed to grab the next one. Maria looked at him with a grin, and climbed in, allowing him to close the door. He stepped forward, putting his hand on Sideswipe's hood. "I swear, Sides, no more funny business," Mark told him firmly. "If I suddenly find myself with romantic reservations at some nice resteraunt-."

"I'm your guardian, not your fairy godmother," Sideswipe snorted. "Now get in and stop your whining."

As Mark finally did as he was told, Sideswipe's holoform only smirked. The kid had a lot to learn if he was going to hope to get beyond the first "real date" with this girl. But at least for now, he felt a certain satisfaction knowing he had at least gotten Mark out of his cold feet.


	39. So You Want To Go On a Date?

MEGSLITTLE: LOL Yes, SideswipexArcee is definitely an obscure couple I'll admit. XD

...  
**CHAPTER 39  
So You Want To Go On a Date?**

"There's no delicate way to put this, dad. So I'm just going to come out and say it," Mark began hanging the conversation the next morning over breakfast with Hound. "I've got my first date this Sunday."

Hound nearly spat his energon out, though he kept himself calm. His first date? Mark was going on his _first__ date_? When Hound had promised him dating advice, he didn't expect to be giving it so soon. "Mark, are you sure you're ready to be dating yet?" Hound asked, his optics filled with surprise. "Dating involves a lot of things beyond your fourteen year old comprehension."

"Dad, my other dad already gave me "the talk"," Mark cut him off quickly. "And besides, this is a junior, going to be a senior. How could I pass up a date with her," Hound's optics widened at that "What? Is that worse?"

"Worse?" Hound snorted. "M'boy, you didn't tell me this was an older femme," Hound stated with a fair bit of surprise and elation. "Oh boy, even if you aren't biologically mine, ye must have the old family charm in ye somewhere!"

Mark blinked at his foster father slightly, stunned at how excited he was. He shifted a little and whistled a little as the other soldiers seemed to look over at him in surprise. Well, the whole base would now know that he had a girlfriend. And needless to say he half expected a cavalry of car and truck tails on his date. "Well, at least you're taking this well," Mark laughed a little. "I'm half expecting Prowl to do the most through background check on her in the world."

Hound gave a loud laugh, even though he knew Mark was right. Prowl would run every background check in the book. After all, this was the youngest member of the Autobots they were talking about. This was the baby of the family so-to-speak, none of them were letting any girl they didn't know was good news dating the young lad. "Well yes, there will be a through background check on this Maria," Hound nodded in agreement. "You're the sparkling in our little "family" and we won't be having you get your heart broken."

"So you guys have to approve of who I date?" Mark asked in disbelief.

Hound gave a snort, and nodded his head as if this was nothing. Of course he was approving of the girl that Mark dated, that was a given. Anyone who dated _his _son was not going to have a massive criminal record for example. With no offense, of course, going to the Autobots old friend Mikaela. "Better believe it! Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of ye," Hound nudged his arm with a knuckle. "Ye got an older femme and you've impressed me. But yer still fourteen, and she has more experience in life I'm sure," He then added. "The pit will fill with water before I let you date anyone that would bring ye trouble."

"Are you going to at least teach me how to impress her?" Mark asked as Hound contemplated this for a moment. "Come on, dad. You promised, this was the deal," Mark pointed at him with a stern look. "I get a date, and you teach me how you got your bondmate. Sideswipe's already kinda helping me out, but I want it from both sides," He motioned towards where Sideswipe was sitting some ways off. "The young, new model," He then motioned to Hound again. "And the old rust bucket."

Hound quickly gave a mock glare, and began to play along with Mark's clear joke. "Old rust bucket? OLD RUST BUCKET!?" Mark was up and rushing to throw the trash away as he started to give chase to him. "Why you little runt, I'll have ye know I'm plenty young! I might just have to haul off and tickle ye for that one," He grinned as he rushed after the boy.

"Dad! Dad! Not in front of everyone," Mark laughed as the mech picked him up, beginning to tickle his ribs. "Dad! Not in front of the soldiers! They'll make fun of me," Mark laughed, though Hound didn't relent even for a moment. "Do you enjoy socially scarring your children for life?"

Hound chuckled evenly as he carefully released Mark from his grip. The boy brushed his brown hair away and looked up at the mech with a mock frown of displeasure. Hound merely rubbed the top of his head slightly, and rolled his optics. "As yer "dad" I reserve the right to embarrass you in public sometimes," Hound snorted as he poked Mark in the stomach. "Now stop being such a wuss. I promised you I'll show ye my moves and I will," He explained heartily. "If only because I'm mighty proud of you for getting a date with a senior."

"When?" Mark asked.

Hound chuckled a bit, setting his foster son back on the ground with a cheeky smirk. He shrugged his shoulders and put his hands on his hips. "Sunday, before your date. That way it will be fresh in your mind," Hound replied teasingly. "Don't worry about it," He laughed as Mark gave a disappointed look on his face. "Fine, on Saturday, the day before. I swear to you, just, you and me."

Mark finally smiled slightly, nodding his head in response, he supposed it made sense. Even if he was convinced he was going on this date, whether he got "permission" or not. "Alright, Saturday," Mark pointed up at Hound. "I'm holding you to that you old rust bucket."

"Do I need to tickle you again?"

"Please don't."

Hound whistled a bit, and nodded his head, nudging Mark. "Besides, you have combat training with Sideswipe in ten minutes," Hound told him sternly. "You're the one that begged him to do it. So you'd better be over there on-time soldier," He teased with a small laugh. "I'll catch up with ye later, alright?"

"Fine," Mark laughed. "Bye dad, love you!"

"Love ye too!"

Hound rumbled his engines a little, a smile spreading on his face. The boy was going on his first date, with an older girl no doubt. It made him swell with pride, and nervous all at once. It was a reminder that Mark, within several months, would be fifteen, and a sophomore. With three years left before he left base and went off to college (if that was his choice), maybe even found a wife and started a family himself. He shook his head, he hadn't even adopted Mark yet, or talked to him about it. He realized perhaps that was the first thing he'd have to worry about before college or anything past that.

For now, he'd just stick to his swelling pride.

...

That day, Mark had nearly all the Autobots asking about this "date". Most of them were just out of pure curiosity, but others... Well. Prowl had gone so far as to immediately ask for Maria Abelli's backstory. And Optimus had tried to caution him against sex before marriage, an awkward note Mark had nearly run away from. Eventually, he settled into his room, and put in the earbuds of his iPhone and blasted Good Charolette through his eardrums to escape any more questions. His silence lasted less than thirty minutes before his door opened and Mark jumped off the bed in surprise.

Prowl, one of the last people he wanted to see, stood in the doorway. His arms were crossed, and he didn't seem to say anything before Mark finally pulled his earbuds out. "So, I've done my background check on your little friend," Prowl explained, leaning against the door frame. "The age gap is the only PRESSING issue both your father and I see," Mark gave a fist pump. "Don't act that way, it was for your own good that we did this. If what happened at the park did not make it obvious, our enemies will take you if they wish to."

Mark sighed, standing to his feet. He knew that Prowl was right, yet highly doubted that they would go that far. "So I get to go?" Prowl nodded his head in response. "YES! Thanks, Prowl! Gotta go thank dad," Mark began to rush off, but soon found Hound joining them. "Aw, crap. There's going to be conditions," Mark said expectantly. "Can't any part of my life be normal?"

"Sorry Mark," Hound rubbed the back of his neck. "We care about you too much not to at least set _some_ boundaries about this date."

Prowl nodded in agreement, his optics staring down at the boy. Mark was simply seating himself on his bed, prepared for whatever was going to be thrown at him. "First of all, whatever you do has to be in town," Prowl explained very calmly. "I know it's a smaller town, but we have sharper eyes in this town, so-to-speak," Mark rolled his eyes, he guessed that made sense. "You will have two escorts on top of Sideswipe that night. But to respect you, they will keep a respectable distance."

Mark nodded his head a little, he guess that was fair. Extra, but hidden protection seemed reasonable, at least. Hound slowly stepped forward then, and began to add more to it. "I want you home by ten o'clock. And not a second later," Hound told him firmly, his optics filled with seriousness. "If you're missing from the base as late as ten-o-five I will call in reinforcements."

"Dad, really, ten?" Mark asked with a groan.

"Yes, ten," Hound told him with all the firmness a father would have. "You're fourteen, Mark. Ten is late enough, and appropriate for a sparkling your age," Mark grunted, though he knew he had no way of arguing against this. "Now we have one final rule about you going on your first date." He continued, looking to Prowl.

Mark watched silently as Prowl walked towards him. The Praxian gave the youngest of the Autobots a stern look as he dropped something into Mark's palm. It was a small object that looked like, and could pass for, your common watch. "You take your own comm channel," Prowl stated firmly. "If your phone stops working, this should pass as an everyday, non-communicable object." He explained as he pointed at it. "The communication part of it is hidden from Decepticon frequencies, but will hone in on each of our communication channels."

Mark looked at the comm, carefully snapping it onto his wrist. He couldn't believe they were trusting him with his own comm. In his cell phone, he of course had Hound, Optimus, and Sideswipe's comms, but now he'd have _everyone's_. It was a way of them showing they really did trust him, and a big step at that. "Wow, thanks you guys," Mark finally spoke up. "I can get any of you on this?"

"That is what I designed it to do," Prowl explained with a nod. "Now, you'll never have to worry about being abducted without any of us knowing."

Mark rubbed the small "comm-watch" slowly, and nodded. His eyes moved between both Autobots before a small smile spread across his face. "Okay, yeah, your rules are fair," He told them, rubbing his knees slightly. "Just... Promise me you'll trust that I know what I'm doing too," He added, his eyes focusing on Hound more than Prowl. "I know I'm just a kid, but I'm not a complete idiot."

"If we didn't trust your judgement," Prowl turned around and started out the door. "You wouldn't be going at all."

Hound watched his friend leave before crouching low to Mark's level. He reached a finger forward, and gently brushed some of his hair away. "I do trust you," Hound nodded his head. "Prowl's right, if I didn't trust what you were doing... This wouldn't be happening," Mark nodded his head a little bit as the mech looked away. "You know this feels weird to me. Letting you go on your first date," He admitted "It reminds me of how fast the time we have together will go by."

"It won't," Mark shook his head and reached it forward, running it along the mech's finger. "This is my home now. So where do you think I'm going to go "home" in college?" He asked, and Hound shrugged. "Hound, you're my dad now, me dating isn't gonna change that. If anything, with your lifespan it means you're that much closer to being a grandfather."

"Don't say that." Hound groaned.

"The point is," Mark shook his head. "You're going always going to me my dad. Just like my bio dad always will be," Hound let himself smile at that. "And I don't think that changes whether I'm fourteen or I'm thirty-four." He explained, his smile widening. "Unless, y'know, you don't see me-."

"Of course I do," Hound shook his head "Don't even let Coulton's filthy words come out of your mouth."

Mark closed his mouth at that, knowing Hound was right. He'd had no reason to believe that Coulton was right about what he'd said before. So far, the Autobots had done nothing but show that they cared about him. "Right," Mark shook his head. "I'm being silly, I guess."

Hound looked at Mark silently, should he ask him now? No, he told himself, they were still only in their third month. He'd give it another before he seriously approached the topic of adoption. After all, a lot could change once they were past the "honeymoon" phase of fostering as many websites put it. "You know I do love ye," He explained, and pointed at him. "And I am counting on you to give me grandcreations someday," Hound waved his finger slightly. "So don't write that off as a joke you made."

"Yeah, just not on Sunday."

"Better not be," Hound replied, his voice almost stuttering. "If you get a girl pregnant... Well, you won't be dating until I'm really old and rusty," As Mark opened his mouth to make an obvious quip, he grunted. "Don't go there, younglin'."

"Right," Mark laughed. "Don't worry dad, it'll be a while. Gotta work on our whole father-son relationship. Rather than try and bring a new one into this chaos."

"Fair enough."

As Hound turned to walk out and return to his work, Mark frowned a bit. He wondered where that even stood now that he was calling Hound his "dad". Would he end up adopting him? Would social services even ever allow it? Or would he simply go through life as his ward and be his unofficial "son" and his eventual kids his unofficial "grandkids"? "Dad?" Hound stopped to look at him, his optics lighting up. "I'm still expecting those tips from you, so you'd better get them ready."

Mark wanted to slap himself for chickening out. But Hound didn't seem to notice, only smiling, and winking. "Saturday, like I told ye," He replied, waving his finger. "Love ye, sparkling."

"Love you too."

As Hound trudged off, Mark sighed, putting his earbuds in and falling back against the bed. Would he ever be ready to ask Hound about adoption? Did he even for sure want to be adopted? The latter he was more sure of than the former. The former scared him to death. What if Hound didn't want to adopt him? What if he wasn't ready for that yet? He sighed, letting himself close his eyes to the melody of a Green Day song. For now, he'd just get his mind off of all of this, and keep his mind on his date.

Because if he was sure of one thing, it was that he was excited for that.


	40. Advice and Cold Feet

A/N: 400 reviews. Wow, just wow. It really amazes me how far a story I came up with over the course of a night has come. I know I thank you guys a lot, but again I just want to say thank you. Your words of encouragement truly do mean as much as I say. So thank you for having this little fanfiction of mine hit 400 reviews. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the journey as much as you are enjoying what has happened so far.

...

**CHAPTER 40  
Advice and Cold Feet**

"I still can't believe you came to me for advice," Hound patted his chest as he looked down at Mark, who was seated on his berth. "I mean, I'd always wanted to show my kid how to get a femme. But I thought I would have to come to you," Hound laughed a little as the boy shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, so do you want to know the story? Or would you rather I just give you the advice?" He asked.

Mark looked at Hound silently, unsure how to answer. Somehow, the idea of hearing the story sounded a lot more interesting. But he also knew that talking about his sparkmate was really, really hard for Hound. "Whichever is easier for you," Mark replied, with a smile on his face. "I don't want you to be hurt by telling me about this," He told him patiently. "You can just go for the advice if you want."

Hound stroked his beard slightly, thinking it over. "How about both?" Hound asked, his optics lowering as he took a Transformer-sized seat. "I can start with a little of how I won over Aqua. It's actually a rather funny story," He commented with a chuckle. "I was just out of the academy, and so was she. At the time, I worked as a construction worker just outside of Kaon."

"You, a construction worker?"

"I was fresh out of "college" basically," Hound laughed a little. "I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life yet. And actually, neither was she," Hound rubbed the back of his neck as he thought back on his sparkmate. "In fact, we met when she came to apply for the... Basic equivalent of a "elementary" school that I was helping to build," Hound then added with a low chuckle. "She got in the way of a piece of falling Cybertronium. Probably would have died right there if I hadn't tackled her away."

Mark's eyes widened as he leaned forward, curious now. He leaned his head against his open hand, and cocked an eyebrow. "So you met your sparkmate by saving her life?" Hound nodded at his foster sons questioning. "Didn't that like... Instantly get you into her berth? Girls love that right," Hound laughed a little. "What? It's true!"

"She actually didn't notice the danger," Hound laughed a little. "Aqua nearly ripped my head off for ruining her brand new paint job." Mark burst out into laughter at that. "You laugh now, but it's the truth. I thought she was the most beautiful femme I had laid my eyes on. But it didn't change the fact I thought she was nuts," He shook his head slowly. "Even so, I offered to buy her a drink and pay for a new paint job for her. And well, she was definitely not going to turn that down."

"That's how you two started dating?"

Hound shook his head, and waved him off slightly. "Not quite. We were friends after that, yes," Hound replied with a grunt. "But she didn't start dating me for a good vorn. I was friends-zoned pretty fast," He explained with a shrug. "She was offered to bond with another mech for a while, but it never worked out. Their sparks weren't compatible," He then added. "I comforted her that night, and one thing lead to another. And the next thing I knew, I was waking up from a long night under the stars with her. Fill in the blanks yerself."

"That's when Coldsteel was born," Mark guessed.

"Sparked, at least," Hound replied with a wide smile. "Aqua nearly killed me when she found out I had sparked her. Thought I'd be the type of mech who would bail, and be an absent sire," Mark frowned, he could never, ever imagine Hound doing that. "But I didn't. I took a promotion at work, I bought us a house to raise him in. And I asked her to bond with me. By that time, she had dated me for quite some time." He hummed quietly. "We were so very much in love."

Mark smiled, it was a very romantic, and sweet story. He shifted a little, and looked up at his foster father. "That's really beautiful, dad," Hound smiled at his foster son's response. "So I take it your big advice _isn't _to have sex too soon. Or to have a kid before marriage," Hound let out a long, deep laugh at that one. "So, what advice do you have?"

Hound shrugged his shoulders slightly, thinking about it. "Be yerself, that's the key thing," Hound told him with a deep rumbling. "That's the most obvious one, but I do want to make sure you know that. Femme's like it when ye act like yerself," He pointed and waved a finger at Mark. "But as to my own methods, I have a special move that worked every time. I call it "the stare"," Mark raised an eyebrow. "Observe."

The look in the mech's optics changed, and he leaned against the wall with a look that screamed trying to be "sexy". Yet, on the older mech, only came off as laughable. "Really, dad?" Mark asked with a loud chuckle. "That actually works?" He questioned.

"Worked for most femmes on my planet," Hound laughed back. "Give it a try, what's the worst that could happen?" He questioned, as Mark nodded his head slowly. "Next, femmes don't like to be felt up or touched too much. At least on the first date," Hound told him gently. "So a "move" you might try on the first date is to gently wrap your arm around hers when you walk her in and out of places. But only that," He explained. "It shows the femme you're interested, but respect her boundaries." He explained.

Mark didn't like the sound of that. He really wanted to kiss her, but he supposed it could wait. "Tougher," Mark replied honestly. "But I guess I can work on that too, even if it really sucks."

"Your time to kiss her will come," Hound replied, as if reading his foster son's mind. "I have one final trick for you before we wrap this whole thing up. If all else fails, if you completely screw up the first two things..." Hound leaned forward. "Don't be afraid to just make fun of yerself. She'll probably laugh, so you just need to laugh along with her," Hound told him honestly. "Bring your sense of humor and you can get yourself out of any situation."

"Thanks, dad," Mark said uncertainly. "I think I got some good advice out of that."

"Just be yerself," Hound replied. "If she doesn't like you by the end of the night? It's her loss," He watched as Mark's eyes lit up at that. "Yer a fine catch, and I expect her to see that."

Mark smiled, maybe Hound was right. But there was only ever going to be one way to find out.

...

"You seem a little nervous."

"A little," Mark grunted as he stretched in the backseat of Sideswipe's alt mode. "Seriously, how can I not be? I'm insane. I'm going out with a girl completely out of my league," He shook his head slightly. "Dad tried to help me by giving me some tips he used to get his bondmate. But seriously, I'm going to need a lot more than that if I want this to work out."

"You'll need a miracle," Mark gave his the door a sharp kick. "Ow! I was only kidding, runt. Jeez, get a sense of humor," He added in annoyance. "I'm sure whatever advice your old mech gave you will help you out," Mark shrugged, tapping his foot against the floor in nervousness. "Mirage and Bumblebee are tailing us, right?" He asked curiously.

Sideswipe nodded in response, driving down the road. Indeed, Bumblebee and Mirage had offered themselves as escorts alongside him. Bumblebee getting Prowl to take over at the Yeager farm, while Mirage wanted to try and not be so stingy to Mark. After some time, it was becoming clear that the mech felt at least a little bad for being so cold to him. "Yep, they're not too far behind," Sideswipe replied. "Personally, I'm surprised you didn't ask Mirage to drive you. Girl's love an Italian sports car, right?"

Mark shrugged his shoulder a bit as he watched the scenery roll by. "Sure, Mirage is a cool sports car," Mark replied, he couldn't lie there. "But Maria called your form sexy. And besides, I don't think Mirage is the type to play it cool on a date." Sideswipe shrugged himself that time, he had a good and fair point there. "You know, Sides. Maybe I should cancel. This is stupid, she's probably going to think I still just act like a little kid." He added.

Sideswipe locked his doors, as if to keep him inside. Mark only grimaced, knowing this was a sign that Sideswipe was not letting him out. "Kiddo, this girl likes you," He told him matter-of-factly. "If she didn't, she wouldn't be going on a date with you. So I doubt she thinks you still act like a little kid," Mark sighed, knowing that Sideswipe was probably right. "Why are you so nervous, Mark?"

Mark shifted a little and leaned forward to look at Sideswipe's holoform. "I don't know," Mark finally replied with honesty a few moments later. "I feel like with all the abnormal stuff in my life... Well, something actually normal just feels," Mark shook his head "Like it's too good to last. Like she's going to eventually find me weird or something. Or that I'm putting her in danger by dating her."

Sideswipe nodded his head in response, it made sense. And the latter may have been true, it was a little dangerous to date Mark. After all, that put her in-line with the other Autobot allies and they themselves were almost always in danger. "Okay, if you really feel like that, then you have five minutes to call the date off." Sideswipe informed him with a disappointed tone in his voice. "But if you keep that line of thinking, you'll never have a wife or kids either. You'll just be on your own with Hound, FOREVER."

Mark's brow furrowed slightly, he hated how right Sideswipe was about this. He loved Hound, but he would eventually want a family of his own flesh and blood too. Maybe even adopt a kid of his own as well. The latter he could do whether he was with someone or not, but the former? Could he really give up that idea just because he was paranoid of putting someone else in "danger"? "I hate it when you're right sometimes, Sides," Mark grunted as he leaned forward against the seats. "Fine, I'll go on the date for sure. But if I screw this up badly, I'm blaming you and dad."

"If this goes wrong, I doubt it will be your fault," Sideswipe replied as he resumed to drive towards Maria's house. "Just keep your chin up, your smile wide, and be yourself, kid." He told the boy with great confidence as he pulled up in front of the home. "Because considering we're here now, you don't have much of a choice." He popped the door open as Mark hesitantly climbed out.

Mark stood at the sidewalk, then back at his guardian. Could he really do this? He still wasn't so sure as he made his way to the door and rang the doorbell. He waited patiently, but after several moments, turned to leave. Of course, at that moment, the door popped open and Maria stepped out. "Where are you going?" Mark jumped and spun around. "Sorry, I was still putting make-up on."

Mark turned around to the beautiful sight that was Maria. Her hair was wrapped in a ponytail; and her body covered by a lime green dress, which seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. Mark nearly drooled, but caught himself, shifting a little. "Wow, Mary," Mark began, using her nickname. "You look... Wow, you look beautiful."

Thinking quickly, Mark made an attempt to do Hounds "look". Maria took him in then, noting his nice shirt and slacks, but mostly the fact he had bothered to slick back his hair with gel. Mark looked cute, but she couldn't help but chuckle at the "look" that he was giving her. "And you look handsome," Maria patted her date on the back slightly. "But I think if you keep that face up, it'll get stuck that way."

Getting the hint, Mark carefully straightened, and laughed himself. "Sorry," He muttered, blushing.

"Don't be, it was cute." Maria shrugged her shoulders. "I've had guys try a lot dumber "sexy" poses. At least yours was a little cute," Mark laughed a little at that. "So, are you ready to go? You said we had reservations at like seven, right?"

"Y-Yeah, we should go."

Slowly, Mark wrapped his arm around Maria's free arm (her purse being in the other). Together, they walked down the driveway as Sideswipe watched with a proud smile. Soon, his door had opened and Maria had climbed in, leaning forward. "Good to see you again, Sides," She greeted as Mark closed the door. "Think you can go a little faster tonight? You didn't show me what you could really do the other night."

Mark carefully climbed in at that, smirking a little. "You kidding me," He asked teasingly. "Sideswipe lives for speed."

"Oh yeah," Sideswipe grinned, revving his engine loudly. "You want fast? Let's wait until we clear your house, then I'll show you _fast_."

As Mark and Maria leaned back and Sideswipe began to drive, he grinned. He was going to make sure that these kids had a good time, no matter what.

...

A/N: Haha you'll have to wait for next chapter for the date! Hope this was enough to wet your appetites for it though. :)


	41. The Redhead

**CHAPTER 41  
The Redhead**

"So, what's it like living with them?"

Mark looked up from the stack of fries he and Maria were sharing. For a moment, his eyes wandered as he pondered his answer. Though the restaurant they were in wasn't fancy, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. The burgers, fries, and shakes were the only thing they could both afford without jobs. But to his luck, Maria didn't seem to mind, only eagerly chewing her fries and keeping a wide smile. "It's cool," Mark shrugged slightly, biting into his hamburger. "You know, I've been with them long enough now that I don't even think about it. It's like living in a human home," He admitted with a chuckle. "I even get chores to do around the base every so often."

"Chores, on a military base?" Maria asked curiously. "What in the world would they have you do on a military base?"

Mark laughed, leaning forward a bit. "Nothing big. I help dad polish his guns once in a while. Obviously always with his help," Mark explained, then thought it over. "Most of my chores I kinda always offer to do. Because I want to help them out," Maria nodded understandingly. "Last week the ambassador to France came in and I offered to help attend to his needs." He rolled his eyes at the memory.

"I take it there were a lot of needs," Maria laughed.

"Who knew one guy could eat so many M&M's," Mark laughed in return.

"It must be cool though," Maria replied thoughtfully, her eyes locking with Mark's. "Getting to meet all kinds of people from around the world. Have you gotten to meet the president yet?" Mark shook his head, that was a privilege he had yet to get. "Man, you should work on that. I bet getting to meet the president would be wicked cool."

Mark chuckled, but again, shrugged his shoulders. "Politicians are just like you and me," He admitted. "The idea of meeting them being overly exciting has kinda gone away. Though it is really cool to meet them too, it's just not THAT exciting when it happens all the time." He then added with a grin. "But most of them are at least nice. And none of them have been a jerk to me or anything. Minus Coulton, but he's just an official."

Maria nodded her head, playing with her burger a little. It was now that Mark began to panic, did she find him boring? He blushed and pushed his hair away. "I'm boring, I know," Mark bit his lip a little. "I wish I could say I was the most exciting son of an Autobot ever. But mostly I haven't changed," Mark replied honestly. "Other than learning about a whole other culture and lifestyle."

"They've taught you their culture?" Mark nodded as Maria's questioning. "Like their religions? Genders? Even the crazy stuff like sexuality and reproduction?"

Mark nodded in response, a smile on his face. "Dad's been teaching me as much as he can," He explained. "I know a lot but I'm still learning a lot too. Cybertron was just one of a whole system of cultures. Even if it was their home planet." Maria look fascinated by that. "He said if I'm going to be basically raised in two worlds. I should learn about the other half of it," He added calmly.

"That makes sense," Maria nodded back in agreement.

"What about you?" Mark asked, his eyes meeting hers. "What's your story? I mean I get the gist of it. But you haven't really told me _e__verything_."

Maria shifted a bit, and looked at her fries again. It was clear that it was awkward to some extent to talk about her story. "I was like you. I was raised by my dad, but unlike you... My mom skipped out on us," She explained, her tone betraying the pain she felt about it. "My grandma moved in with us to help dad take care of me. And since my dad is busy a lot of the time with work, she pretty much raised me." She explained.

"You and your dad don't have a close relationship?"

"We used to," Maria replied honestly. "But things got tough for dad in the last four years. Did I tell you I used to live in Chicago?" Mark nearly spat the coke he had just sipped up out of his mouth. "Don't worry, I don't hold it against the Autobots. They tried to protect us, and one of them even saved us during the fight." She explained. "But we still kind of lost everything in that battle, and dad just became so stressed..."

Mark was silent as he thought of his own father in that moment. James had become very stressed after he had lost his sister in Chicago, though probably not on the same level. He had still spent time with him, and loved him, but he worked more, and Mark would even say he became mildly depressed. "Yeah, the same happened with my dad," Mark shook his head. "He went from being this happy guy all the time to... Something else," He paused a moment. "He was still happy and vibrant around me. But a part of me always knew that Chicago did something to him," He admitted, his eyes moving aside. "He would yell at people a lot, and he'd get this look on his face any time I brought up the Autobots..."

He felt as Maria reached forward, and took his hand gently. Mark looked at his date quietly as she gave a comforting smile. "I'm sorry," Maria shook her head. "You know, I bet if he could see all they've done... He'd take it back," Mark nodded a bit. "You know, I'm glad I met you," Mark looked up in surprise. "I feel like you can understand me on a level everyone else can't."

"Me too." Mark nodded.

"And that's why this is so hard..."

Mark looked up at Maria, who leaned back, and took a sharp intake of breath. "What's so hard?" Mark asked. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

"No, no," Maria shook her head. "You're a really sweet guy. But... You're fourteen," Maria replied, honesty seeping through her voice. "And I don't know about you, but I'm just not feeling sparks," Mark frowned a bit, though he had to admit, he wasn't either. "Look, I'm eighteen soon anyway. I feel like if we keep this going without a real spark to start out with... It's not going to end well when I head to college," Mark nodded in understanding. "I want to be your friend, though."

"So you do think I'm just a stupid kid."

"No!" Maria shook her head. "You're a sweet, funny, and interesting guy. Hell, this is hard for me," Maria's eyes locked with Marks. "Some girl is going to be so lucky to be with you. But I don't think you're going to meet her if you're with a girl who's moving away in a year." She explained, a smile spreading on her face. "But I do like you, and if you were a few years older? I might have waited for that spark."

"Really?"

"Really," Maria stood to her feet and smiled sadly. "I'm going to use the restroom... I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now. If you want me gone when I get back, I can call my dad." She explained, looking at Mark sadly before starting towards the restroom in the back of the restaurant.

Mark sat there for a long moment, pondering what had just happened. He'd been dumped, flat out dumped and it sucked. But he understood Maria's sound reasoning, it just wasn't meant to be, not now at least. He ran his hand down his face as the waitress started her way toward him. "Rough night?" She questioned.

Mark looked up to face their waitress for the first time. Standing in front of his was a beautiful girl of fifteen years. Her red hair flowed to her shoulders, with her bangs partially covering her startling green eyes. She wasn't a super model, but by all accounts she was as beautiful in figure as she was in features. "You could say that," Mark muttered. "First date and break-up in one night."

"That bites," The waitress, whose name tag read "Alexis", seated herself in front of him. "Personally, I thought it was going pretty well from where I was standing. But hey, I guess it's like my dad says," She leaned forward. "Some people are just too blind to see a good thing," She explained. "Even if they might as well just slap them across the face and say "hi"."

Mark did spit out his coke that time, chuckling a little. Alexis smiled, her green eyes twinkling a bit as she did. "Thanks, that made me feel better," Mark said as he slowly stifled the rest of his laughter. "Hey, don't I go to school with you? We had English together, or something this year, right?" He asked in realization.

"Biology," Alexis replied. "I was the one that played the prank during the last class. You know, with the paint bomb?" Mark's eyes widened, and she only chuckled. "What, just because I'm pretty doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good prank?"

"You just didn't seem like the type," Mark admitted. "But I have to say, that was awesome. The look on Fitzgerald's face was priceless," He said with a small thumbs up. "I'm Mark, by the way, I don't know if we ever talked during the year." He stated as he held his hand out.

Alexis took it in response, a smile on her face. "Alexis Tanner," She told him, her smile widening. "So, tell me, is your "guardian" the corvette?" Mark raised an eyebrow. "What? I may have eavesdropped a little, or a lot," Mark smirked a little, but finally nodded. "Ho-ly crap, that's sick. Though personally, I always found the Ferrari cooler, is he still around?"

"Look to the right of the corvette."

Alexis's eyes lit up as she saw Mirage, her grin widening. "That is sick," Alexis replied. "I would give my soul to have a ride in that car. Like you have no idea," She told him with a hint of hyperness. "Is it true that he speaks in Italian? My friend Aubrey says that's true, but-."

"Only when he's bored or mad," Mark shook his head. "But he has the accent at least."

"Wicked," Alexis replied as a bell sounded out, and she turned towards the owner; who waved her over. "Crap, that's my cue to get moving," She sighed quietly, taking a check out of her apron and a pen. "I guess I'll just leave this here with you. I figure you'll want to get yourself out of here before too long," She explained, scribbling something down.

As Alexis set the check down, Mark took note of the fact that a phone number was scribbled on it. He stared up at her, and pointed slightly. "Uh, I think you made a mistake," Mark pointed out.

"No mistake," Alexis winked. "Maybe you'll want to take me for a spin in that Ferrari sometime. Y'know, if you ever feel like it," She added with a smile, turning to see Maria was making her way back to the table. "You can pay up at the front if you want. Dad'll ring you up there when you're done," She gave a final, flirtatious grin as she walked off. "See you later." She peered over. "Hey Maria."

"Hey, Lexi," Maria waved as she noticed Mark putting something in his phone. "So, should I call my dad now? It'll take him a few minutes to get here," She said, her voice filled with disappointment.

Mark first looked at the phone number he had put in his phone, and then at Maria. He simply stood to his feet, picking up the check and giving a kind smile. "Nah, come on, let's go get you home," Maria's eyes perked up as Mark replied kindly. "No hard feelings," He explained. "Still friends."

"Definitely still friends."

As Maria started towards the front, Mark took one last glance over at Alexis. The young girl met his gaze, and smiled, giving a small wave at him before returning to taking the order of the table in front of her. The boy smiled a little, and finally started after Maria. Maybe this night wouldn't end up being such a total bust after all.

...

A/N: Surprised? I kinda surprised myself here. I always knew with the age-gap, Mark and Maria would never be permanent. But I decided to introduce a long-term love interest for Mark, namely Alexis, earlier on rather than draw out a doomed relationship. So do expect to see more of Alexis as the story goes on. :)


	42. Techies and Stress

GUEST: Nope, but maybe later. XD Since it's summer in the fic right now. XD

...

**CHAPTER 42  
Techies and Stress**

For the next few weeks, Mark spent a lot of time getting to know Alexis. Though none of the Autobots (other than Sideswipe) had met her yet, she had easily passed a background check. He learned quickly that she was a little on the poor side, but didn't act like it, and carried herself well for living in one of the crappier parts of town. For all intents and purposes, their friendship was much closer than his was with Maria, and the two often visited one another when they could. But they weren't dating, at least, not yet. After all, they were still getting to know each other, which left their friendship somewhat platonic.

That morning, he had agreed to meet Alexis at her small "hideout" at the edge of town. The girl, being a techie, had set up a little base of operations in a small abandoned building. There, she ran several forums, wrote multiple blogs, and somehow found time to hack her way into messing with others once in a while (all in good fun though, never nasty). Pushing the door to the building open as Sideswipe drove in beside him, Mark poked around the computers quietly. It was like a maze of computers that she had found in junk piles, and either fixed up or restored. The building itself was old, and musty, but kept up by Alexis enough that no one would really notice.

"Lexi," Mark shouted out as he held up a bag. "I brought McDonald's and the first season of Boy Meets World. I'm not sure what you want with the latter, but it was like five bucks at WalMart, so whatever." Poking her head out from behind a computer, the redhead waved slightly. "Seriously, what did you want with this? You do know i's for free on Youtube, right?"

"I wanted DVD-quality clips for a parody video," Alexis told him, removing the headphones from her ears. "I'm syncing it up with some Girl Meets World clips. And am going to do this two generation-wide "music vid" for "I Like Big Butts"," Mark snorted a bit as he tossed the girl the DVD. "Hey Sides," She greeted as Sideswipe transformed, being small enough not to hit the ceiling.

Sideswipe rolled towards the young techie. "Sweet! That sounds amusing," Sideswipe crouched down and looked at the computer screen. "Heh, is that an image of a dancing cat? What's that doing on KSI's main website?" He questioned.

"I got bored this morning," Alexis shrugged, leaning back as Mark approached them. "So, what's up Autobot boy? Anything cool and hip in the world of boring suits and alien wars?" Mark raised an eyebrow at her, holding back laughter. "What? I'm curious."

Mark shrugged his shoulders a bit, seating himself on one of the many desks. "Nothing, really," Mark replied with a sigh as he took out an egg mcmuffin from the bag. "They're still asking when we're going to start dating. Or at least when I'm going to introduce you to them," Alexis snorted, and looked back at him. "What? Am I that undesirable?" He asked with faux-hurt.

"You're the one that still hasn't asked, Savoy," Alexis told him in a gentle, but scolding tone. "And besides, I still haven't gotten my ride in the Ferrari. And I thought that was going to be our first date," Mark opened his mouth to explain that. "Yeah, yeah, I know that Mirage is stingy and chances are it's not happening. Have you even tried to convince him?" She asked.

Mark shook his head, picking a baseball off of the table and tossing it into the air. Sideswipe shrugged a little, and looked between the two of them. "You two still aren't saying you're dating yet?" Sideswipe asked with a hint of surprise. "Primus almighty, you two. I haven't even seen this much sexual tension since Sam and Mikaela. Or Sam and Carly for that matter," Mark stuck his tongue out at Sideswipe. "What?"

"Don't make this awkward, Sides," Mark replied, finishing off his breakfast. "We're taking this slow, like snails pace slow."

Alexis looked at Mark with a small smirk, and nodded her head a little. "Which is good. Because last time you jumped head first, the Maria incident happened," She told him rather bluntly, to which Mark frowned in response. "Come on, Mark, you know I'm not like that," She told him before turning to look at Sideswipe. "We'll call it dating when we're ready to. I'm just enjoying the ride we're on."

"You don't like labels much, I take it," Sideswipe questioned.

"Hate them," Alexis nodded in response. "He likes me, I like him, why does it have to be any more complicated than that? We've only known each other less than a month," She pointed out rather bluntly, it was a fact Mark agreed with. "Hey Mark, hand me my copy of the Fall-Out Boy CD I bought yesterday, I need some inspiration." She commented.

"Why Fall-Out Boy?"

"Because their music is sick."

Mark laughed, shaking his head a little. "You call everything "sick" though," Mark teased her as he grabbed the CD. "What do you even mean by it anymore? Awesome? Cool? Weird?" He asked.

Alexis snatched the CD from his hand, and stuck her own tongue out at him. She playfully smacked him on the chest and shook her head. "Sick just means sick, like cool, awesome, whatever," She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh yeah, and I almost forgot. You know how you said that Coulton dude is always giving you shit?" Mark nodded uncertainly. "Just wait until you get back to base, and find out someone crashed his entire computer last night." She giggled.

"You didn't," Mark laughed.

"I did," Alexis replied. "I made sure he could recover the files though. Just so you didn't get into trouble if he found me or anything."

Mark chuckled a bit, leaning forward to look at the screen as Alexis brought up the file for a virus. Then the various screencaps that she had taken of the process she put Coulton's computer through. "Alexis, be sure to keep in touch when you're out of college," Sideswipe snorted. "If you manage to torment Coulton enough to quit, we may just have a place for you at NEST."

"I live to please," Alexis replied, chewing her pen slightly. "And I didn't even show you guys the _best _part of what I did today."

Mark only grinned as he listened to Alexis continuing on with her talk. A part of him wondered why he couldn't have noticed Alexis first. She was smart, sweet, funny, close to his age. And when he was around her, he felt more than just a physical attraction. He felt an attraction to all of her: personality, physique, and the like. And it was both the most exciting and scary prospect ever. Would she dump him like Maria had? Would they ever make it past the mutual attraction?

He didn't know, but he hoped that within time, he would find out.

...

"Mark's sure spending a lot of time with that new girl."

Hound peered over to Optimus as he walked along the hallway in NEST Base. Indeed, Mark _was_ spending a lot of time with Alexis, not that it was a bad thing. Mark seemed even happier around her than he was with Maria. And it got him out of the base more too, it allowed him to spend more time with his own kind. "Yes, he is," Hound replied, emitting a deep sigh. "He seems very infatuated with this girl. And I'm very happy for him."

Optimus nodded in response, looking down at his data pad a moment. "When do we get to meet the young woman?" He questioned politely, a smile spreading across his face. "Surely, we would all like to meet the young woman who has our youngest member smitten."

Hound shrugged a little, even he didn't know the answer to that. Even though he did accept Mark's reasons for not bringing her around yet, he felt anxious all the same. This girl seemed to be on a much more serious level than Maria as far as their relationship was concerned. Unlike Maria, he saw Alexis often, and even for a few hours a day usually. "He doesn't want to invite her over until they are.. As he puts it, "official"," Hound explained politely. "And as long as he has Sideswipe nearby at all times, I don't see a reason to make him take her here."

Optimus nodded in agreement, knowing exactly what he meant. Mark wanted time for his relationship with this girl to develop before she met his extremely unusual "family". "A fair point, given how sound his judgement has been thus far." Optimus admitted in agreement. "I suppose his guardianship under Sideswipe is going well as well?" Hound nodded in response. "Good, very good."

"Is something troubling you, Prime?"

Optimus stopped a moment with Hound following suit. "I was simply worried for his mental state after his near abduction," Hound frowned, unsurprised. "I know that nightmares tormented him for many nights. And it concerned me," He then added. "I remember consulting Bumblebee for nearly a vorn when he went through the same thing." He explained.

Hound was silent for a moment, and sighed. It was true, Mark was still struggling slightly with that. Just the other night, he had had to comfort him after he awakened from a nightmare to ear piercing screams. "I believe that his time off-base with Kenny and Alexis is helping," Hound replied with saddened optics. "But he still has nightmares, and he's still very upset about it."

"Do I need to talk to him?" Optimus questioned calmly. "I've noticed that our chats often help qualm his fears," He added firmly. "If a talk will do him good, I always attempt to keep my doors open."

Hound shook his head, twiddling the "cigar" in his mouth as he looked up at him. "I don't think so. He barely talks to me about it as is," Hound explained, honesty in his voice. "I don't think this is something he can handle through talking out. At least until he's ready to talk about it in detail," He then admitted. "I don't even know what his nightmares entail, and that would be a start."

Optimus frowned at that, his optics softening. It was never a good idea to keep these emotions bottled, the fact that he was relieving stress elsewhere aside. Was it that Mark was afraid that one day they wouldn't be able to help him? Had Coulton said something about it that they didn't know about? Optimus inwardly growled at the thought of the latter. It would only add to the list of reasons he was tired of the mans actions. "You need to talk to him about it. If this is the work of Coultons words again, I want to know," He told him very bluntly. "I already know he got quite the scare from Grimlock soon after the incident while speaking to Mark."

Hound tensed up at the very thought of anything that could make Grimlock grow enraged. He knew that Grimlock cared for, and watched over his foster son, even from afar. But he only ever stepped up and became aggressive when he perceived a threat to him it seemed. "I'll talk to him about it," Hound replied, his spark twisting. "If that man said anything too terrible to him, I swear to Primus. I may not be able to control myself from popping multiple rounds into his skull this time."

"Easy, Hound," Optimus rested his hand on the mechs chest. "I believe that we all might be at this point. But we must handle this in a civil manner. Lest we send the wrong message to the human government," Hound huffed a bit, crossing his arms. "Don't worry, if this is the case again, I will be bringing it up to the President on his visit here next week." He then added. "I will not stand for his actions any more."

"I hope his sorry aft gets kicked to the curb," Hound grunted. "I'm tired of this. Tired of him. Tired of all this slagging drama like you wouldn't believe." He huffed, and tried to control himself. "Sorry, Optimus, I'm just... It's pushing me to my limits," He paused quietly. "There are days I'd sooner take Galloway over him. At the very least he had the good sense to get lost after a while." He explained.

"I understand, my old friend," Optimus replied with a soft smile. "If you need to speak to anyone, as I know the stress you are under... You know that I am right here," He offered gently, before turning towards the way he had been headed in. "It's time for me to go though, I have a video conference with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in less than twenty minutes." He then added "Try and calm yourself for now, Hound."

Hound watched as Optimus trudged off after that, his optics twisting. A part of him wondered if he should just storm off and find Coulton himself, confront him, give him a piece of his mind. And yet the other half knew that he would only be stooping to his level, and he hated the thought of that. The thought of bringing himself to a shameful level of spite. Slowly, he made his way down the hallway himself. His mind turned to the enlarged, Transformer-sized printer they had; and the shooting range just feet away.

He smirked to himself, if he couldn't shoot the man dead. At the very least, for the moment, he could pretend to do so. "Prowl, do you have any surveillance pictures of Coulton?" Hound asked. "No, no reason, just... A little fun."

Or a lot of fun.


	43. Threats and Decisions

**CHAPTER 43  
Threats and Decisions**

After shooting up a thousand blown up pictures of Coulton, Hound had only been somewhat relaxed. It had taken much more than that to calm him down, even if satisfaction wasn't coming for a little while. Hound was spending time with Mark, who had returned from hanging out with Alexis when his little antics exploded. "WHO THE HELL DID IT?" Mark jumped out of his skin as Coulton's voice filled the rec room. "First I find my computer crashed," Mark chuckled knowingly, turning away from the movie that was playing on TV at that. "I swear to God, when I find out, I'll skin the person alive! Can you skin a robot alive?"

Lennox, who was seated on the couch nearby Mark and Hound, stood up. His eyes scanned over Coulton, who looked to be disheveled, covered in multiple paints and feathers, and angry beyond words. "What happened to you?" Lennox asked, trying to control his obvious stifled laughter. "I would go get Sideswipe for Prime to lecture right now. But he went on a scouting mission after he came back with Mark," He managed. "So I'm going to take a guess and say it wasn't his handywork."

"You want to know what happened," Mark noticed as Coulton began an almost psychotic laugh. "I opened my on-base desk in my private office to a paint bomb. I opened my locker, looking for a towel... And was covered in feathers," Mark covered his mouth, and tried his best not to laugh. "And I just found my private car welded to the CEILING," Lennox shook his head, looking to be holding back his own laughter. "I'm glad you find this funny, colonel."

Lennox quickly controlled himself, and grew more serious. It was hard not to know who had done it. Especially given how Hound was pretending to just focus on the movie he had only been mildly interested in ten minutes ago. "Coulton, I think you need to calm down," Lennox offered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go and get Optimus to help get your car off the roof. I'm sure he'll handle whoever did this to your car."

Coulton glared, his teeth gritting. "Don't talk to me like I'm a little child colonel," Coulton brushed past Lennox, who rolled his eyes. "I bet it was you, wasn't it Hound? You never did like me," He growled.

"You'll find most of the Autobots don't," Hound snorted quietly, standing to his feet. "The fact you immediately go to me amazes me. Would I really do something so childish?" He questioned as he put his hands on his hips. "Perhaps someone else that was tired of the way you treat people on this base-."

"Oh please, it's your son I piss off most," Mark tensed a little as Coulton glared daggers in his direction. "I'm sorry if I've offended your little feelings so much you had to sick your so-called "daddy" on me." He told the boy mockingly.

Hound wanted to kick the man right there. But he kept himself calm, taking a deep intake of breath. He crossed his arms, and straightened up, his optics leering down at him. "Mark was nowhere near the base until two hours ago. He had no time to plan something so elaborate," Hound told him rather bluntly. "You can throw accusations at me all you want. But do not take this out on him. Primus knows you do that already."

Coulton sneered, and pulled the sunglasses he had off of his face. The look in his eyes spoke volumes, he didn't care, this was just another chance he had to belittle them. "You must think you're really clever. Not having even the tiniest metal balls to attack me head on," Coulton told him with a loud shout. "So instead hiding behind pranks and whispers like a coward," He added. "It'd be a real shame if something happened to the boy because of your attitude."

That did it, and Coulton was about to wish that he hadn't said a word. Hound's engines flared up, removing a gun, and getting up close as Lennox came between them. "Did you just _threaten _my youngling!?" Hound shouted, his voice dangerously loud and angry. "David Coulton, you have no idea how dangerous the ground you're treading on is." He added with the lowest snarl Mark had heard from him. "If anything happens to my son and I find out you had anything to do with it-."

"Hound! Hound! Buddy," Lennox shouted, trying to get his attention. "You need to stop! If you even shoot at his feet he can have you hauled off," Hound didn't stop gritting his denta even for a second. "Hey, hey, Hound, put the gun down," He stared at Coulton, with a glare of his own. "You really think that was smart? Pissing off a giant robot by threatening his kid?"

"He's not even his kid," Coulton laughed. "He's just a foster brat that he picked up out of the trash. A freak of nature who had a nutjob for a father, and frankly doesn't belong on this base." Mark felt his stomach turn in knots at that. "And I know I'm not the only one who thinks that. Are you going to shoot all of them too, Clint Eastwood?"

Hound took another step forward, making sure not to step on Lennox. "Alright, alright," Lennox shoved Coulton back at that. "He tried to tell you his way, now I'm going to tell you mine," He told him, sizing up the shorter man. "Shut the hell up and walk out that door. If you threaten him again, you'll have General Moreshower to answer to."

"Are you threatening ME now, colonel?"

"No sir. I think he took care of that already." Lennox commented as he pointed up at Hound. "He's the one with the giant guns aimed at you. And something tells me that he has a damn good reason to use them," He then added. "And me? I just don't take too kindly to someone who thinks it's okay to go around threatening kids."

Coulton looked between Lennox and Hound for a moment, grimacing. But slowly, surely, he moved towards the door, and out of it. Lennox tensed as he looked over at Mark. "You don't really think he'd try to hurt me, do you?" He asked them both with a look of fear in his eyes. "I mean he can't actually do that. If he did-."

"Over my offlined chassis," Hound growled.

Lennox shook his head, bringing his cell phone from his front pocket. The look on his face said it all: He didn't like this at all either. "I'm calling General Moreshower right now," He told him rather bluntly. "I've had enough of this guy. And frankly, that sounds like warning bells all over." He stared over at Mark, then at Hound. "Hound, let Mark bunk with you for the night. After the Attinger incident, I'm not taking government threats lightly."

Hound nodded, crouching low and picking his foster son up. "Come on, kiddo," Hound told him quietly. "We'll finish the movie another night."

Mark hoped this fear would be for nothing.

...

Hound's berth was soft and comfortable, especially with the giant blanket wrapped around him. Mark found adjusting to resting against a massive, titan-sized pillow rather difficult, but had managed to do his best. He felt much safer with Hound beside him after the threat. It was like sleeping alongside a guardian angel, and more importantly, alongside someone who would never let anyone hurt him. Yet still, around three in the morning, Mark opened his eyes and grunted, turning his head to see that Hound was now out of the berth and seated at a desk nearby.

Mark groaned, and turned over onto his side slightly, barely getting the attention of the mech. His blue optics lit up the room a little, given its darkness, but he quickly stood to his feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Hound commented, looking down at him. "I was just trying to calm myself down, I could barely recharge after what happened."

Mark shifted a little bit, shaking his head in response. "It's okay, I was just... I'm having a little trouble sleeping," Mark muttered, sitting up slowly. "I don't know why it is, but Coulton... Scares me sometimes," Mark rubbed the top of his knees slowly. "And when he reminded me that this isn't... Totally real. It hurt," Hound frowned a bit, seating himself on his berth "I mean I get I'm just a foster kid..."

"That doesn't matter," Hound insisted gently.

Mark shook his head and shrugged, rubbing his eyes with the back of his pajama sleeve. He hated to admit that some days he didn't feel like it was, but he did. He had those feelings that he still wasn't really Hound's son. There were no legal documents that listed him as his legal son, only the documents they had Hound filled out to foster him. "Right," Mark replied quietly, trying his best to lie with a straight face. "I know..."

Hound looked down at the boy, revving his engine lightly. He reached out a large metal finger and stroked the side of his face. "Mark," Mark was silent even as the voice spoke up. "Markus," The use of his full first name got his attention, and caught him off-guard. "Do you _want _me to adopt you?" He questioned as gently as he could.

Mark thought over the question quietly, unsure of how to properly answer. He hadn't even fairly thought about it up until a week or two ago, and now, the question had been asked. It was a question that weighed heavily on his mind, did he really want to legally have no more ties to the "Savoy" family? Was he ready for that? "I don't know," He admitted quietly. "I'm a little scared to be, to be honest," His eyes traveled up to look into Hound's deep blue optics. "I feel like I'm giving up a part of myself."

Hound nodded his head in understanding, looking down at him. "You are, in a way," Hound admitted, his optics gazing off towards the wall. "Adoption means much more than a piece of paper. It binds you to a family through the legal system. Family can be whatever you chose it to be," He mused. "But adoption means that the government has chosen it to be your family too."

"I guess you'd know," Mark admitted. "Sometimes I forget you were adopted too."

Hound nodded absently, leaning back and staring at Mark. "I also know that I love you, Mark," Hound told him very calmly. "And whether you want to be adopted should be your choice. If you want to be, you can be," He explained patiently. "And if not, then I will still be your family. You'll still be my son, and I'll still be your father," He then added very bluntly. "Nothing can _ever_ change that."

Mark nodded his head, resting his head back against the large pillow. He knew that was true, in fact he was positive it was. "I want you to adopt me," Mark finally spoke, to which Hound's optics twinkled. "But only after we know I'm safe, after this huge attack by the 'Cons is over. When we know things are okay, at least for a little while..." He explained, his voice firm. "I know that's probably the best time to do it. You have enough stress weighing on you as it is."

For a moment, Hound looked uncertain. As if waiting that long seemed stupid to him. But of course, he knew that Mark made a very good point. They had enough on their mind as of right now, and working through the adoption did not need to be one of them. When things had calmed, he would be better prepared mentally to handle the situation, and so would Mark. "Very well, after things have finally settled down," Hound rubbed Mark's back a little. "We will go to Dana together, and tell her our decision."

"Alright," Mark yawned quietly as he spoke, snuggling deep into the berth.

"Go back to sleep, Mark. No one is going to hurt you," Hound told him gently.

After several moments, Mark nodded, and began to close his eyes, which were quickly growing heavier. "Goodnight, dad."

"Goodnight, my precious one."

Hound quickly realized that that had been the first time that he had said those words. At least, it had been the first time since Coldsteel had died. But even so, he felt a smile cross over his lips, and he sighed quietly. He could only hope that this pact would last, so that he may be able to say that without the fear that still loomed over his head. Because if he lost him before he properly had the chance to make him his, he didn't know what he'd do anymore.


	44. Suspension and a Visit

KATNIP: One can only hope at least. Glad you're enjoying the story! :)

...

**CHAPTER 44  
Suspension and A Visit**

"Suspend me," Coulton shouted loudly, his voice reverberating through the hangar. "General Moreshower, sir, you cannot suspend me from my position!"

Mark watched as the tall, muscular general glared harshly into Coultons eyes. The man didn't seem to give the liaison any remorse either, only told him his orders stoically. "Temporary suspension, Coulton," Moreshower replied in a harsh deadpan. "After all the crap you pulled, your superiors and I want to makes sure you're in the right place." He then pointed straight at Mark. "And that you are not seriously considering hurting a child. Let alone one under strict government, and Autobot protection."

Mark watched as Optimus, who was to Hound's right took a step forward. The Autobot leader had been very angry to hear that Coulton had actually threatened Mark. And today, he looked no less angry, with his mouth curved into a frown and his optics somewhat-narrowed. "I can tolerate a great deal of things on my base," Optimus began, his voice low. "But threats toward a youngling. Especially an Autobot youngling-."

"He isn't even one of you!"

"_I _decide who is and is not an Autobot," Mark was startled by the way Optimus snapped. "And Markus Savoy has proven to me time and time again that he has earned a place in our ranks. He may not be a part of this war, but he is an Autobot," Mark felt a small smile tug at his lips as Optimus told the man that. "And as an Autobot, he is also protected by the revised NEST treaty. Which says that I have a say in the fate of a man who harms my Autobots," He crouched low, and looked closely into Coulton's eyes. "So know this, David Coulton. If you chose to ever follow through on your threat, you will not only be at the mercy of your superiors. But at mine as well."

Hound, who stood on the other side of Mark, crossed his arms and glared. It was clear that he wanted to say a lot of things to the man. He wanted to tear him apart, piece-by-piece in fact. Yet he knew that for the sake of the Autobots he needed to keep himself mostly calm. "Be lucky I don't have too much say in this," Hound commented. "As far as I'm concerned, threatening my youngling-." Hound began, but was quickly cut off as Optimus raised a hand. "Well, we'll just say the punishment I wanted for you was far less kind."

Coulton's eyes finally met Mark's, though the boy tried to avert them. "And what about you, boy?" The man sneered. "No quips to add to this? No snarks?"

Mark looked Coulton dead in the eye, holding his ground well. "Seeyah, don't let the door hit ye where the good lord split ye," He told him, almost childishly. "I'm sure that we'll all really miss your _charming_ personality while you're gone." After that, Mark saw Optimus give _him _a warning glance and shut his mouth.

The look Coulton gave him made him tense, and even a little afraid. He looked livid, as if stunned that he had the guts to stand up to him like that after all this time. But Mark didn't care, Hound had now agreed to adopt him. This was his family, this was going to be his family forever if things went well. And on that note, they weren't going to let Coulton do anything to hurt him. "C'mon, David," Moreshower stepped forward now, grabbing his arm. "Let's go before you make yourself look any more like a damned idiot."

"No," Coulton shrugged the man off. "I can show myself out," He then stared between the boy and two mechs. "If you think you've gotten rid of me, you're wrong. I'll be back, and all three of you will wish you hadn't crossed this line." He told them with great anger before turning, and walking off in a huff.

Mark shuddered a little bit, hoping that wouldn't be the case. He was happy to hear that the man was gone, and there was no way that he wanted him back. Optimus took a step forward and stared down at Moreshower. "Does this mean we can expect the return of Charolette Mearing?" Optimus asked, hoping their best "main" liaison would be brought back on. "I know that she has expressed her desire to return in the past."

After a long moment, the man nodded in agreement. "I'll get on the phone with Mearing once Coulton and I touch down in DC," Moreshower explained, staring up at the mech. "For now, Robert Epps will handle things as best he can," He then looked at Mark. "Try not to let yourself get too worked up, kid. Coulton is a lot of talk, always has been."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright then, I'll be going," Moreshower nodded in response. "I'll call you when I know the answer about Ms. Mearing."

"A very safe journey to you, General."

As Moreshower saluted them, both Optimus and Hound returned the gesture. After a moment, Mark realized it was directed at all three of them, and fidgeted slightly, finally saluting as well. Hound chuckled inwardly at the half-hazard attempt, but simply shook his head. He knew that his son would get used to it, within time, he'd probably be a champ among "military brats". Moreshower let them go at ease before turning, and heading off towards the direction Coulton went in. "You're free," Hound nodded to Mark. "Why don't you go find Sideswipe? You may have time to go catch that movie you were talking about."

"Good idea," Mark nodded. "I'll see you later."

Once Mark was out of earshot, Hound gave his leader a look of worry. One that was only matched by the look of concern in the mech's optics. "I have a bad feeling about that last threat, Prime." Hound told him uncertainly. "That look in his eyes was pure venom."

"I concur," Optimus replied, tensing a little. "From here on out, we keep the base on high alert at the arrival of any government official."

Hound couldn't agree with that idea more if he tried.

...

That night, Mark dreamt of home. But it was not his home now, no, rather it was his home of the past. The large, beautiful DC home that he and his father, James Savoy, had shared. It was open and spacious, with beautiful furniture and a breathtaking view of the city. Mark mused that it was as if he had never left as he walked from his old bedroom and out into the kitchen, where to his surprise - he found his father. He stood in a nice dress suit, not unlike the kind he'd often wear to work (when not in the field), and he leaned against the kitchen counter.

He took a cautious step back, as if expecting this to be like the last dream. A nightmare in which his father would scream at him, as if he were there and disappointed in him. But oddly, the man smiled, a little sadly, one might add. "Mark," Savoy took a few, cautious steps forward. "It's alright, this isn't a dream, not like the last one." Mark's eyes widened as the man seemingly read his mind. "If you want proof, I'll let you hit me. Give me your best shot, I deserve it with everything I've put you through."

Mark blinked, noting the look in his eyes and the sad expression in his features. There was no mistaking it, this was his dad. He didn't know how he was there in his dreams, or why, but he was. A number of emotions ran through him, he wanted to beat the man where he stood, he wanted to scream and thrash. But he did none of those things after he ran to him, instead, he wrapped his arms around the man and let tears fall. "How," Mark whispered quietly. "I don't understand, you're dead, you can't be here."

"I'm not, not really anyway," Savoy commented, hesitatingly wrapping his arms around his son. "Sometimes, we're allowed to visit. And I thought it was time I took my chance to talk to you," He paused, clearing his throat as he gently broke off the hug and moved him forward. "You must still hate me, huh? After everything you've learned, I wouldn't blame you." He commented. "The afterlife gives you a lot to think about - I even hate myself."

Mark looked up at him, his eyes saddened. "So it's true, what they said?" Mark asked. "You killed people? Kids, adults, Autobots?"

Savoy looked at the ground, guilt filling the pit of his stomach. He had always been glad he had died before Mark had found out. But now, he had convinced himself he was ready for this, to talk about it to him, rather than watch him from afar. But he wasn't, it was hard, seeing the pain in his face, the look of disbelief. "I did," Savoy nodded solemnly. "I was a very angry man, Mark. I did a lot of terrible things in those weeks I'd leave you with your sitter," He explained "Things I'm not proud of. Things I'm punished with the knowledge of every day."

"So you're... Down there?"

"Nah, up there," Savoy shook his head. "My faith gave me that much, the big guy really is forgiving." Mark was surprised at the fact he sighed with relief there, at least now that he knew for sure. "I don't deserve it though. I deserve hell, and I damn well know it," He explained. "I should be burning down there with Attinger, but I..." He paused.

"You weren't all evil," Mark told him. "I wouldn't have ended up okay if you were."

Savoy chuckled at his son's optimism, and nodded his head solemnly. After a moment, he looked down, and then at Mark. "It felt especially bad when you met that Autobot," Savoy explained, his face paling. "The damn thing loves you just as much as I did, after all that I did to them," He explained, uncertainty in his eyes. "I didn't even regret what I did to them before that. Before I saw how he treated you. How he looks at you."

"So you don't hate them anymore?" Mark asked.

"I'm not happy with what they did to our planet," Savoy admitted. "But they have earned my respect from what times I have checked in. I guess the short answer is that no, I don't hate them anymore. I just wish none of this had to happen." He shook his head. "I'd give anything to go back to just the two of us, Markie. Before all this crap happened." He told him, making Mark smile at the use of his old nickname. "You shouldn't have to grow up an orphan."

"Hound wants to adopt me."

"And you're not sure if that's a good idea," Savoy replied. "You told him you are, but you're still not positive." Mark looked away, yet again, his father read right through him. "And that's why I'm here. To make at least something right after all the wrong I've done," He told him, his eyes baring into his son's. "I want you to let Hound adopt you, Mark. I want you to stop focusing on me, and live your life."

"But if he adopts me, I'm letting go of you," Mark replied, tears stinging his eyes again. "I tried putting you behind me, but it hurts. It hurts to think that I won't be a Savoy anymore." He watched as his father approached him and cupped a hand over his cheek. "I don't want to let you go, dad. Before this happened it was always you and me. And I love Hound, but," He then added. "I-."

"Stop that," Savoy shook his head. "I didn't raise someone who makes stupid decisions," He explained as Mark frowned. "I'm always going to be here Mark. I'm always watching you, and I will always _be_ watching you." Mark looked down, uncertain of how to take that. "But I can't be your family anymore. I'm gone, Mark. I'm on the other side, and its time you came to terms with that." The boy stiffened. "He loves you so much, Mark. He can give you everything I would have, maybe more because he doesn't have the side I developed after your aunt died."

"You mean you won't hate me?"

"I could never hate you," Savoy replied firmly. "You're my baby boy. You were my entire world." He told him gently. "I'm going to love you 'til," Savoy chuckled slightly. "Well, I guess until the end of eternity," He looked Mark in the eyes, and pulled him into another hug. "I may not have been the best man, but I'm still your dad. And I always will be that. But I think I've accepted even the Autobot can be too."

"You really have been watching," Mark laughed.

"Yeah," Savoy replied with a chuckle. "I was about ready to shoot the mech down at first. He's lucky he actually treated you well, or I might have never seen reason." He explained as Mark rested his head against his shoulder. "I'd say a few things about that Coulton guy. But I really wasn't much better on the job," He admitted, wincing at the thought. "That said, I'm kinda hoping that the one with the swords rips him to shreds one of these days."

"Sideswipe isn't allowed to," Mark chuckled, a silence falling over them. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

"I do too," Savoy told him. "But it's time for me to go," He explained. "Remember what I said, Mark. Take his offer, get adopted," He told him gently. "And know that you'll never forget me. Not as long as you keep me in that big heart of yours." He explained, pointing at Mark's chest. "And I'll always be watching, even when you don't know it." He then added. "I am so proud of the young man you are becoming," His smile widened "He's going to go on to do great things."

"I love you, dad," Was Mark's only reply as he squeezed tighter.

"I love you, too." Savoy said as he gave his son a gentle kiss on the head.

And with that, Mark found himself sitting back up in bed. The first rays of light were seeping through his window as he sighed quietly. It felt good to have at least some closure in his mind, to finally know that his dad was okay. That he was proud of him, and most of all, that he approved. For the first time, he smiled, and looked out into the deep blue sky. Knowing that he was on the right path, and he only needed to stay on it.

...

A/N: Woo, that last exchange has been a long time coming. But I thought this was the perfect time for Savoy to make an appearance. Of course, the OOC-ness of him is intentional, though I tried to keep him as in-character as possible. The OOCness is there to mostly show the side to Savoy that Mark has talked about since chapter one.


	45. A New Liaison and a New Agreement

KATNIP: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed that last part! :D

...

**CHAPTER 45  
A New Liason and a New Agreement**

The next few days passed like clockwork after Coulton's leave, and the visit from Mark's father. Mark had told Hound about the latter, and to his surprise, Hound believed him. As he had put it, Mark had seen what he needed to see. And Hound even admitted that he was thankful his father found forgiveness and peace in death, as well as seen the error in his ways. Beyond that first day that he mentioned it, however, Mark decided not to bring it up again. His father was right, it was time he started to move forward in his life, as much as he missed him. But he could at least now move forward knowing that somewhere out there, Savoy was watching over him, and proud of who he was becoming.

About a week after the entire incident, Charolette Mearing arrived on the new NEST Base for the first time. The first thing that Mark had noticed was the sharp look in her eyes and the way she carried herself. Yet, Mark also noted that Mearing seemed to be far from a mean looking individual, if anything, she simply looked very professional. Of course, when he was asked to be there to greet her, he had taken the time to hide behind Hound for the most part, his nerves working overtime. Was she going to be kind and fair like Epps? Cold and rude like Coulton? Or something worse entirely?

At the end of the line, he could hear talking calmly with Optimus. The two chatted like a couple of old friends, even if there seemed to be somewhat of a monotone in her voice. Finally, they broke off from speaking and she addressed the other Autobots. "So, do I get to meet the boy that has half the government running around like a madhouse?" Mearing spoke up for the first time now. "After all, as I understand it, Coulton's abuse of him is ninety percent of the reason he's gone now."

Mark felt as Hound nudged him forward gently with his foot. The boy shot his foster father a glare, but the mech only nodded forward. Mark sighed, and finally stepped out of the procession of Autobots to face Mearing. "That would be me, m'am," Mark began.

"Young man, do I look like a m'am?"

"Sorry... Sir?"

"Mearing, will do," Mearing replied, thankful the boy didn't sass her like the last teenager on base had. "I'll have you know, I'm not too happy with the idea of a fourteen year old on my base. You're a major liability, especially when you're under Autobot care," Hound visibly stiffened, as if ready to argue. "That being said, I also understand Hound worked hard for his right to have custody of you. And as far as the reports I have been given are concerned, you've been a model member of this base. Outside of a few pranks."

Mark shifted uncertainly, thankful to hear that. He tried his best to stay out of NEST's way, and let them do their jobs. The only times he interacted with anyone was when they were on break and approached him. "I'm glad to hear that, Mearing," Mark replied with a gulp. "I promise, I'm not here to cause any trouble. I'm only here because I didn't have a home, and was offered one here," He explained. "If you want me gone, I'll get it. Maybe things would be easier without me, probably would actually. But I'm not here to cause trouble."

Mearing stared at him for a long time, trying to read if the boy was being honest. She sighed quietly, and shook her head. "No, I don't think kicking you off base will be necessary," Mark visibly relaxed at that comment, though Mearing cleared her throat. "But I will have a close eye on you, Savoy. If I think even for a second you can't be trusted, you're out of here." Her eyes bore hard into Mark's. "You're still a civilian on here, after all. But as an honorary Autobot, I have agreed to respect you do have a position here."

"What position would that be?" Mark asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"A goodwill ambassador, if you will," Mearing smiled a bit. "You and Hound are changing things, kid. For the better if you ask me," She pushed her glasses further up her nose quietly. "And right now, if you ask me, we could use one of those." Her face quickly returned to her unreadable, professional expression. "I think there will be more goodwill missions like the one you did at the charity event in your future."

"Without the kidnapping part, I hope," Mark cracked a joke.

Mearing gave him a look, clearly showing that she didn't find anything about that part funny. He straightened a bit, and she simply shook her head. "Don't try to make light of things like that around me," Mearing finally replied. "This war isn't a game, kid. I take the fate of every one of our race and theirs very seriously," Mark chewed his lip. "Alright, enough of this jibber-jabber, we have a lot to talk about in your office, Optimus." She noted. "Let's go."

As Mearing and Optimus left without another word, Mark sighed. She definitely seemed much better than Coulton, but her whole stoic and professional attitude would take some getting used to. "Well then, she's... Something else," He commented as Hound approached him calmly. "I kinda like her attitude though, the whole take-charge, no-nonsense thing is kinda badass." He admitted.

Hound chuckled deeply, and carefully scooped Mark up. "Yes, Charolette Mearing is indeed something else," Hound replied honesty. "I only knew her three months before NEST resolved, but she _is _a good woman." He also insisted. "She just wants to make sure ye know her rules. She's far more fair than Coulton, she'll give ye a good chance."

"I hope so," Mark admitted. "I think I'd be really afraid to get on her bad side."

"That, you should be," Hound admitted.

Mark had a feeling he wouldn't have much to worry about, though.

...

The next time that Mark was called into the main hangar, he felt tense. He had only left with Hound three hours ago to watch a movie in the rec room, given it was their usual movie night. But he still did as he was asked, entering the main hangar where he found that Optimus was waiting for him. He was not surprised by the mech's presence, given it was usually him that sent for Mark at times like these. Saluting the mech half-hazzardly, he stared up at the supreme commander carefully. "Hey, Optimus," Mark began, going at ease as he was motioned to do so. "What did you need me for?"

Optimus was silent for a long moment, but eventually his optics traveled down to him. "I apologize for the late hour at which I called you here," He finally spoke up. "But I knew that you would be with Hound, and I did not wish to interrupt that. Alone time is, after all, precious for you and your foster sire," Mark nodded, thankful that Optimus understood that.

"So what do you need, big guy?" Mark asked, his eyes traveling up to him. "Did I do something wrong with Mearing?"

Optimus laughed a little, shaking his head. Mark was thankful for that, just as he was thankful he hadn't seemingly been in trouble with Optimus before. "Not at all, as usual, you were well-behaved," Optimus replied honestly, his optics staring off into space. "Mark, I want to speak to you on a very pressing matter." Mark cocked his eyebrows a little at that. "Your upcoming adoption by Hound."

Mark's eyes widened. "Dad told you about that?"

"He did," Optimus nodded in response. "But for good reason, because of what this will no doubt mean," He told him, which seemed to put Mark at ease. "As Hound's officially adopted creation, this will mean that you will no longer just be human. You will legally and officially be a part of the Autobot faction," He then added. "As is every sparkling or youngling adopted into our ranks."

"You mean there'd be nothing "honorary" about it?"

Optimus shook his head, which made Mark stunned. He didn't know Cybertronian laws well, but it did make sense. Being the child of an Autobot did undoubtedly mean that you were now an Autobot too. Unless for some reason down the line you turned your back on them. "You are a member of the Autobots in my optics. But you will then be in the eyes of your human leaders as well," He explained. "I do not believe I need to tell you what this entails, but I still will," He crouched low, staring at Mark. "You will be more open to the secrets that we have kept hidden due to your overall neutrality in the war."

"You mean the restricted areas?" Mark asked. "On our side anyway," Optimus nodded in response. "Are you sure that it's a good idea to give that kind of access to a kid? Wouldn't the government, y'know, flip out?"

Optimus shook his head, his optics locking with Mark's. "It is part of our agreement with the government that only Autobots have access to this information. But I will warn you of the repercussions of this as well," He explained, his optics softening. "You will see things that no other human sees. And with good reason, as it would no doubt bring countless destruction. Weapons mostly, but information as well." He then explained. "If you are truly ready to become one of us, then I must have your word... That this will be for your eyes only," He then added. "You would be the first human we entrusted to see this information, the only human thus far."

Mark rubbed his arm gently, unsure of how to reply to that. Of course, all the Autobot's secrets were safe with him. But even so, the idea of keeping such massive secrets from everyone else was intimidating. "I promise, Optimus," Mark finally managed. "You guys have kept your word with me, and I'll do my best to return the favor. It's because of you guys that I'm even getting a family again," He the explained. "And family helps each other out. They don't betray them."

Optimus smiled, impressed yet again by how mature the words the boy said were. He nodded his head, his trust in the boy growing more with the statement. "I am thankful that yet again you prove your loyalty," Optimus explained as he stood to his feet yet again. "I believe your words, Mark Savoy. And trust that you will be worthy of knowing our secrets," He explained. "But until the time of your adoption, these secrets must still be kept from you. Lest the government have reason again to believe we are planning something."

"Of course," Mark nodded his head slowly. "It's kind of exciting actually, I bet you guys do have some wicked cool devices," Mark inwardly laughed at himself, having used Alexis's trademark phrase. "Optimus?" The Prime stared intently at him. "Are you really okay with that? Y'know, Hound adopting me? Me becoming a full-fledged Autobot in my own right? All of it?"

Optimus's smile only widened, as if the answer were obvious. "To me, you are already one," Optimus explained, his words filled with honesty. "I believe you have earned the right to be adopted by Hound. And therefore, the right to call us your comrades. Your _family _as you put it," He explained, his optics twinkling slightly. "Do not prove me wrong, Markus."

"I won't."

Optimus nodded his head, and then put his hands on his hips. "We shall discuss this further when your adoption date arrives," He finally added, taking a deep breath. "For now, I have work to return to and you have a recharge time to adhere to." Mark rubbed his eyes, realizing it _was_ getting late now. "Do not think too hard on this subject. You have nothing to worry about, as long as what you say is truthful," He explained.

"I know," Mark replied with a nod. "Goodnight, Optimus."

"Goodnight, my young friend."

As he started towards his room, he could already tell this adoption thing was going to be far more complicated than he expected.


	46. Devastation

GUEST: Sam WILL appear by this story's end. Undecided on Simmons though. :)

...

**CHAPTER 46  
Devastation**

Mark seated himself down on Hound's hood in the middle of the group of cars early in the morning a week later. He didn't know why Optimus had called the meeting, all he knew was that he had wanted him there. Once Optimus had arrived however, he stood to his feet so that his foster father and the other Autobots could easily transform. "Everything alright, Prime?" Hound questioned, his optics traveling up to his leader. "Don't tell me it's another long mission. After all the chaos, I don't think this is the best time."

Optimus shook his head, and then looked over his Autobots slowly. There was a silence as they all waited, one that Mark noticed rather easily. It nearly stunned him that even Crosshairs, who usually never could keep his mouth shut even stayed silent. "There has been a... Situation," Mark didn't like how Optimus looked at him after that. "Mark, please understand I only tell you this so you do not hear it from anyone else," He blinked a bit. "The Decepticons led an air strike late last night on the neighborhood of DC that you once occupied."

Mark might have fallen over in shock if Hound hadn't held out his hand to catch him. They had attacked his former home? He had friends in that neighborhood, there were a lot of families in that neighborhood. Innocent lives, people who had nothing to do with the war, and who may not have even known him. "W-What?" Mark finally breathed out. "They, how? Why? Didn't you guys try to stop them? Couldn't we have done anything?"

Hound had dreaded giving this bit of information to Mark. He'd been told when it happened, and he knew Mark wasn't going to take it well. He had mentioned the ties he had to his friends there, they had even been in contact all the time. "I'm sorry son," Hound tried to tell him gently. "It was a massacre, and it happened too fast for us to do anything," His engines revved slightly. "They wanted to send a message, and nothing was going to stop them. I think a few families made it out, one of them was that of a friend of yours that you've mentioned. Melissa, I believe her name was? But otherwise..."

Mark felt tears sting his eyes, he couldn't believe this had happened. Why would they attack so many unarmed people? He didn't live there anymore, they _knew _he didn't live there anymore. "I can't believe it," Mark finally spoke again, his voice low and filled with disgust. "Why would they do something like that? If they want to send a message, why not come after me again? Those were innocent people, those were families!" His voice raised louder with each passing moment.

Hound took a few steps forward. "Mark, they've done this before, many times," Hound shook his head. "They saw an advantage to hurt us, and you," He shuttered his optics, and cocked his head to the side. "I'm so sorry you had to find this out. But there was no way around it," He explained, the boy seemed to just be silent. "Prime, you might want to get on with the point."

"Indeed," Optimus shifted a little. "Considering our charge's ties to this neighborhood... Myself, a few of you, and members of NEST will be going to help with the effort. Recovering what we can, helping to locate undiscovered bodies." Mark looked up at Optimus as he said that. "And any survivors in the rubble that may have been missed as well," He then added. "I will need volunteers-."

"I'll go," Sideswipe threw a hand up. "Don't need to ask me twice. Any friend of Mark's is a friend of mine, I'll be happy to help."

"You know I'm in," Crosshairs raised his hand slightly, stepping forward. "Bloody Decepticons think they can pull a stunt like this," He growled low, in a manner that almost scared the heck out of Mark.

Of all, most of the Autobots, aside from Hound and Mirage, agreed to go. After a moment, Mark stepped forward himself, and raised his hand. "I'll go," He stated, trying to keep his calm, but swallowing hard. "These are my friends you're talking about. People I grew up living next to, people I care about," He explained, trying not to choke up. "I want to see who's okay and who's-."

"I advise you to stay behind, Mark," Optimus replied calmly. "If you appear at the scene, we cannot guarantee the Decepticons will not strike again," Mark's eyes fell to the floor in defeat, knowing the mech was right. "And more importantly, this is surely a shock to your systems. You were not prepared for this news, nor do we expect you to be," He explained. "You need time to recover from this new information."

"But Optimus, I-."

"Mark," Mark turned to look at Hound, his eyes shifting up to him. "Listen to Prime, let them do what they must. I can already tell that if you went there and saw its destruction," Hound's optics dimmed a little. "It would devastate you. It's a traumatizing thing to see the destruction of one's childhood home. Believe me, son, I know." He explained, his voice gentle, yet firm. "Please, trust our judgement."

Mark wanted to argue, wanted to scream. He wanted desperately to find out what happened, to be able to mourn his friends. He wanted to be able to hug his friend Melissa and cry together. But he knew it wouldn't happen, they were right, it was too dangerous. And he probably was far from mentally prepared to handle the sight. "Alright," He finally relented, his eyes traveling up to Optimus. "I just want to know, I have to know who's still alive. Please, Optimus."

Optimus nodded his head in understanding a sad smile on his face. "That much I can give you," Optimus replied, trying to bring at least some comfort to the child. "Autobots, let's roll out, our transport leaves in fifteen minutes." He explained, motioning the others forward as he looked up at Hound. "Hold down the base while I'm out, Hound."

"You got it," Hound watched them leave before turning to glance down at Mark. "It'll be alright, kiddo. There's bound to at least be one or two more survivors."

The boy never replied, he only stared off into space, worry in his eyes.

...

That night, Hound heard Mark break down and cry for the first time. The Autobots had only found a few survivors, a few that Mark knew, and a few he didn't. Yet Hound could tell that Mark's heart, none-the-less, still broke for all of them. He knew what Mark was going through: the guilt, the anger, the frustration. Why couldn't he have been there? Why had they wanted to attack that place? Why all those innocent lives? All were questions that he could only guess ran through the fourteen year olds head. "Mark," He said quietly as he knocked on the boy's door. "Can I come in?"

"I don't want you to see me like this," Mark sniffled quietly. "This is why I didn't want you at the theater much either. I'm an ugly crier; I'm a MESS." Hound frowned, his optics softening a little bit. "Please, dad, just go outside and talk to the others. I know there's a meeting, I don't want to keep you."

At that, Hound carefully pushed open the door. Mark was on his bed, holding his pillow in his arms, his eyes red and puffy from fresh and old tears. He looked up at Hound, rubbing his eyes. The mech took a few steps forward, his optics twisting. "Mark, you're my son," Hound told him gently. "I don't care about a meeting right now. I care that you're okay; _everybody_ cares." He then added. "We could hear your sobbing in the main room."

"Great," Mark groaned. "Everyone thinks I'm a wimp."

"No one does," Hound told him quietly. "This is simply the first time you have truly broken down. Even when you woke up from nightmares, you seemed to keep it together," He seated himself on the ground beside the bed, and gently stroked his side. "I wish there was something I could have done, anything I could have done. You did not need this news, nor the repercussions of it."

To his surprise, tears began to stream down Mark's face again. He leaned into Hound's hand, basking in his foster father's touch. The mech wished he could really "cry" in this form so that he could cry with him. But he knew that Mark didn't need him doing that, he needed his father, he needed to know it was alright. "I just... After everything that was happening with my dad, I didn't see it coming." He shook his head. "I thought I was going to stop losing people, that everything was going to be okay. But I couldn't take it anymore, it pushed me, Hound. It hurts."

Hound wrapped a finger gently around the boy's torso. So that was what caused it to hit him so hard, it was all his stress at once. About his loss, about his second loss in the past few months, about everything. It was a harsh reminder of one fact: Mark may have acted mature and calm for his age. But in reality, he was still a child, barely in his teenage years, who'd lost much to this war. "I know, son," Hound told him gingerly. "You can cry as long as you want, and as hard. Yell at me if ye have to," Mark buried his head deeper into the mech's metal hand. "I'm right here, I've got you."

And Mark did cry, and cry, without words exiting his mouth for a while. Hound hated to see his son like this, but he also knew he needed someone there. A gentle reminder that he didn't lose everything, and still had him. And most of all, he still had his family of Autobots, as unusual as it may have been. Finally, the sobs slowly choked down to a little whimper, and he finally laid against him. At first, he thought that Mark may have cried himself to sleep, but slowly, he raised his head to look up at Hound. "You probably missed the meeting," He muttered.

"I commed Colonel Lennox," Hound told him with a smile. "He understood that this was far more important than any meeting. After all, you are my son, my only child..." He paused a moment, sad to think, yet again, that Coldsteel wasn't there. "It is most important that I see to it that you are okay, and rested," He told him as Mark nodded his head, gently rubbing away some residue of the boy's tears. "It'll be alright, you know that, don't you?"

Mark nodded his head, and chewed his lip quietly. "I hope so, dad," Mark finally managed. "But I hate the 'Cons, I hate every last one of 'em." He finally managed to explain. "Is it bad that I want them all dead? Every last one of them?"

"Never wish death upon anyone," Hound commented quietly. "Think of Drift, Mark. Not all Decepticons are like this, though the majority are." Mark frowned, knowing that Hound had a very good point. "Hate those that did this, Mark. If there is one thing I have learned, it is not to hate them all. Only those that do the worst of actions," He then added. "And this most certainly applies to that principal."

"Are you gonna leave me now?" Mark asked quietly.

Hound's first response was to cup Mark in his hand, and gently lift him to his chestplate. The boy laid his head against it, and allowed Hound to hold him. Taking in the comfort as he heard the gentle hum of his spark. "I'm not going anywhere, Mark," Hound told him in the softest of whispers. "Not until you tell me you want me to, at least."

And for Hound, that could be an eternity for all he cared.

...

Galvatron smiled wickedly as he overlooked the small suburb in Washington, DC. He relished in the destruction, the death, the fear in the eyes of those that survived. IF this wasn't a blow to the Autobots, he didn't know what would be. No doubt, it would crush their pet, and therefore, the spirit of the Autobots themselves, in some ways. "You have done well," Megatron turned to Coulton, who stood off to the side. "Coulton." He stated, finally allowing himself to use the name he chose, now that he had done him some good.

Coulton smiled, his eyes flashing red and a malicious grin spreading. "With the technology I swiped from their base, we can do even worse." Coulton explained, chuckling a little. "This was just the warning shot, if you ask me." He explained. "Now that I'm currently off of the team, I can work even further undercover. Until I get myself placed back within when the time is right."

"_Excellent_," Galvatron replied. "And I am to understand that Knock Out used the mouth clamp to put the tracking device in the boys... Molar?" Coulton nodded once more, the mech cackled wickedly. "Those fools have no idea the hell they have unleashed." He commented gleefully.

"Shall we take the boy and base now?" Coulton asked.

"Not yet," Galvatron replied, his grin widening. "Let's give them false hope, I want them to feel it. Just before I rip all of it right from under Prime's nose." He explained, turning to leave the area slowly.

As Galavatron transformed into his truck form, and popped open his driver's seat door, Coulton grinned. He couldn't wait to see the Autobots crushed, to see all hope drain from their optics. This time, they would be victorious, of this, he was absolutely certain.

...

A/N: Evil, I know. But it was time the Decepticons made a serious strike, and it gave me a chance to have Mark just finally let it all out. It was about time for that too.


	47. Sharing and Sparring

A/N: So, since is being annoying, and the website insists none of your reviews exist. Despite having them in email form. I will be replying to everyones reviews in here. As frustrating as that is, I can't reply to you guys in PM at all.

TOMORROW'S HERO: I hope so at least. XD  
ZANZA FLUX: You pretty much hit the nail on the head with Mearing and Optimus. XD  
DARK MAIDEN95: I think most people would. And yes, it is definitely not a good thing that he has one.  
MEYER331: LOL Yes, it probably would be useful now. And no, I've stated several chapters back that Sam is alive and was in hiding during AOE.  
TYRANTQUEENOFCONS: Well thank you very much! Glad you find it brilliant!  
OPALWOLF: Coulton does have that effect on people a lot. :P  
SOUNDDRIVE: Galvatron states that Knockout put it on him using the "mouth clamp" he used to gag him. Glad you enjoyed the chapters!  
MIMZY94: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!

Hopefully this will be fixed by tomorrow, because I do enjoy talking with all my readers/reviewers one-on-one. :) But anyway, on to the chapter!

...

**CHAPTER 47  
Sharing and Sparring**

"Mark, wait up."

Mark turned his head as he walked along the main hangar, his eyes meeting the form of Crosshairs almost at once. He hadn't talked with the mech for a long time, he realized. But he also wasn't sure that he wanted to talk to anyone gruff and hardened like he was either. "Hey, Crosshairs," He greeted, trying his best to keep up a friendly appearance. "What's up?"

Crosshairs raised an optic ridge as he stared down at him. "What do you think is up? We all heard you leaking last night," Mark realized he meant "crying" and blushed slightly. "Are you okay, squirt?" He asked, the concern in his voice catching Mark off-guard. "I know I'm not usually the comforting type. But you're still the son of my best friend on this base," Mark smiled a little at that. "So if you need to talk to someone who isn't your old mech."

Mark stopped, and took a seat on a surface nearby. His eyes raised up to the mech in question, and he noticed that the paratrooper actually stopped in his tracks. A part of him was stunned that he actually cared, but the other should have seen it coming. "I'm okay, or as okay as I can be," Mark managed to say, his eyes staring down at the floor now. "Dad practically stayed with me all night. So I was able to sleep for a while at least," He looked up at him. "Was Prime right? About how bad it would have been on me?"

Crosshairs averted the gaze Mark gave him. It was definitely a difficult question to answer, especially given how upsetting the sight had been for the Autobots alone. He shuttered his optics a little, then stared over at him. "It was nothing that I would have wanted you seeing," He replied honestly. "Our one comfort was that you didn't have to see the devastation, the death," Mark nodded slowly in response, understanding. "You wouldn't have wanted to see it, Mark. Primus forbid you have to identify any of the remains."

"I'm still just processing the fact it happened," Mark commented, his voice low. "I knew most people on that block by name, and now... They're all names in the obituary," He added, noticing Crosshairs raise an optic ridge. "I did some searching the web about it this morning. Don't tell dad, okay? I don't think he'd like to know that I focused on it at all." Crosshairs nodded and gave a thumbs up. "I guess you guys know how this feels according to him."

Crosshairs bit his lower lip lightly, unsure of how to respond. It was like he said, he had never been good at comforting people. But he did know how to handle that pain, he knew very well. "When I was only five vorns old," He began, sitting himself down beside Mark on the surface. "The Decepticons led a raid on my own hometown themselves," He explained, his voice low, as if he was trying not to let anyone know what he was doing. "I was one of only sixteen mechs and femmes that were rescued from the rubble."

"Did your family-?"

"My uncle and I were the only surviving members of ours," Crosshairs replied, his voice cracked a little bit. "My grandcreators, creators, brothers and sister, even my other aunts and uncles... None of them made it," He then admitted. "A lot of us have a story like that, being orphans. But only a few of us have truly lost everything. Including me," He commented glumly. "Even my uncle's gone now, so I am literally the last of my line."

Mark frowned, he knew how rough a feeling _that _was. He looked up at the mech, it was probably the first time he saw the paratrooper actually show emotions. Something he could not miss given the fact that his optics seemed softer, and sadder. "Who ever thought we'd really have something in common," Mark replied, trying to lighten the mood, and getting a small smirk from Crosshairs. "I'm all that's left of the Savoy's too."

"Yeah, I figured that out when no one contested," Mark felt his frown return at that. "Hey, I don't mean anythin' by it. I just mean that if any of them were around, I'm not sure how they could leave a good kid in foster care." Mark's eyes widened at the compliment. "Hey, don't look so surprised. You've grown on me, I've said that much before. You're a good kid, and I don't think anyone would leave you behind," He added quietly again.

"You wanted Hound to kick me out when we first met."

"Because I'm an idiot sometimes," Crosshairs snorted slightly. "I was angry at all humans, not just you. So don't take it the wrong way," He told him rather bluntly, and Mark couldn't help but chuckle. "Who do you think helped Hound with that little prank we played on Coulton?" At that, Mark's laughter only grew even more. "Either way, point is, I'm glad you proved me wrong," He then added. "And... I'm sorry for all the friends you lost."

"I'm sorry about your friends and family, too."

Crosshairs smiled a little, of course, Mark's reply would be that. He put a finger on the boys back, and nodded slowly. "It's alright, I've moved on. And someday, you will too, from all this slag," He stood to his feet slowly. "Because if there's one thing I've learned about you... It's that you're one of the toughest blokes I know," Mark grinned. "Don't let that go to your processor."

"I won't," As Crosshairs turned to leave, he smiled. "Crosshairs?" The mech turned to look at him. "Thanks."

Crosshairs quickly returned to his usual tough guy demeanor, if only because he noticed soldiers approaching. "Don't mention it," Crosshairs gave a small wave before walking off.

Mark couldn't help but feel like, for the first time, he was starting to see Crosshairs in a new light.

...

Sweat dripped down Mark's face as he and Sideswipe continued his combat training that afternoon. Progress was good, as Sideswipe noticed, even with a few weeks passing since their last session. Mark was getting faster, and sharper with his skills. He had even managed to work his way up to learning to use one of the blades Sideswipe often lent him. "Alright, stand down Mark," He finally stated as the young human ceased his exercises. "I think you're ready now."

Mark raised an eyebrow as Sideswipe's holoform appeared. He looked the mech up and down, and raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He questioned, confusion in his eyes. "Are you gonna teach me to use some other human weapon?" He questioned.

"Heh, not exactly," Sideswipe's holoform prepared himself, getting into a stance. "I think you're ready to give actual sparring a shot," He watched as Mark's eyes bulged with fear. "Easy there, kiddo, we're gonna take this nice and easy." He told him, holding up a hand. "But at some point, you may have to actually fight. So you need to be ready for actual combat."

Mark visibly tensed at the thought of real combat. Was he actually ready to go toe-to-toe with Sideswipe? He didn't know, but he did know that he was probably better off at least trying. "Are you sure this is okay?" Mark asked as he carefully got into position. "I mean, I've fought once or twice to save my own skin. But I've never fought my own friend."

"Then don't think of me as your friend," Sideswipe replied, a firm look in his eyes. "In this exercise, I'm a mugger. Someone who just randomly picked you out off the street. I'm probably armed, and dangerous," He carefully brought out a holographic knife (one that would not actually hurt Mark). "Ready?" He questioned, after a moment, Mark slowly nodded his head. "Here we go."

Sideswipe was nearly impossibly fast, swinging the knife for him with great accuracy. But Mark was fast too, especially with his overall somewhat-scrawny nature. He dodged the swing of the knife before landing a blow with his elbow, connecting it violently with Sideswipe's stomach. The mech staggered a few inches as Mark grabbed his arm, throwing it against a nearby wall and letting the knife clatter to the ground. "Very, very good," Sideswipe nodded his head. "You've been paying attention."

Mark grinned, but it was quickly wiped away when his legs were kicked out from under him. He fell flat on his face, groaning, and looking up. "That was a cheap shot!" Mark muttered.

"And you think people will fight fair?"

Mark thought a moment, leaping forward, he wrapped his legs around Sideswipe's own. The mech and his holoform even seemed to be surprised by that one. Forcing the holoform onto the ground, Mark quickly grabbed the holographic knife. Before Sideswipe had even known what was going on, Mark was on his holoform and holding the knife to his throat. "Dead."

Sideswipe chuckled a bit, letting his holoform and the knife dissipate. "That was impressive," Sideswipe shook his head. "I held back a bit, to see what you would do. But that last move caught even me off-guard," He told him, crouching for a fist bump, which Mark returned. "Nice job, short stack. You'll be a force to be reckoned with yet."

"Does that mean you'll go full-out next time?"

"Slag no," Sideswipe laughed. "I won't give it my all until you're way older."

Mark seemed somewhat disappointed, but still understood. After all, he'd seen Sideswipe when he was training the troops. He was one of the strongest, fastest, and most badass Autobots he knew. The last thing he wanted was to end up in the med bay because they went too far, too fast. "He's coming along nicely, though," Mark turned as Hound entered the training room. "Don't worry, m'boy. You'll be ready for that kind of sparring by the time you're eighteen."

"That's four years away," Mark groaned.

Hound chuckled a bit, and then stared down at Sideswipe. "So are the two of you done, yet?" He questioned rather politely. "I wanted to take Mark out for a little night to ourselves," Mark's eyebrows arched up. "Just the two of us, so you're off for the night with him too."

"Yeah, I think we've done enough for one day," Sideswipe nodded, then pointed at Mark. "Keep working on your left hooks, and your jabs. You could have used a couple of those on me to bring me down faster." Mark sighed, but nodded back as Sideswipe slowly rolled for the exit. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Shouldn't be hard though, I do a lot of things."

Mark laughed quietly, looking up at Hound with confusion. "What's up, you got the night off?" He questioned, with Hound only nodded. "Cool, where are we going? We haven't done a night with just the two of us in a while. We're not even bringing Mirage or back-up?" He asked.

"Just the two of us," Hound confirmed with a nod. "I think you could use it considering what's happened." Mark gave a small smile, and a deep breath. "But first thing's first, go get showered and changed." He added with a nod. "Make it a little quick too, or we'll be late."

Mark couldn't have been more confused if he tried. What did he mean they'd be late? Where was Hound taking him? "Do I get to know where you're taking me, dad? Or am I just going to be left in the dark?" Hound chuckled a little bit. "Come on, what's going through that processor of yours?" He questioned.

Hound looked thoughtful for a long moment, unsure of if he should tell him. But after a long moment, he finally nodded, putting his hands on his hips slightly. "I'm taking _you _to witness a meteor shower," Hound finally spoke, as Mark's eyes widened. "I know you've told me you've never seen one. And what's more you've always wanted to. But we have about an hour long drive ahead of us to the perfect spot to watch, at least according to Lennox." He then added "So we have to leave in the next thirty minutes."

"I'll be ready in twenty," Mark replied as he rushed off.

Hound sighed, a smile crossing his features, this was definitely going to be a good night. And without a doubt, one that they both needed to get away from all of this stress.


	48. Plans

A/N: Yay! All of your reviews are showing up again! XD That was frustrating yesterday, but oh well. Moving onto the next chapter! :)

...

**CHAPTER 48  
Plans**

"_Wow_."

Hound grinned at the look of amazement that crossed Mark's features that night. They had gone a good distance and to a large hilltop, which was mostly hidden. He was thankful that Lennox had told him of this spot, as it truly was a wonderful place for it. He had Mark held carefully on his head, the boy's legs dangling just short enough that he could easily see himself. It was a little dangerous, but putting Mark at his full height gave the boy the best seat in the house as meteors streaked through the sky. And for Mark, it was definitely a breathtaking sight as well, even if he was scared that at any moment he could fall the entire length of his foster father to the ground. "Dad can you believe this?" Mark asked, his voice somewhat hushed. "It's amazing."

"Indeed, it is a beautiful sight. Especially from this high." Hound's optics traveled up to stare at his foster son. "I should probably let you down sometime, though. If you fall, you'll give me the spark attack of my life." He explained rather honestly. "I'll try and wait until the shower starts to die down at least, though. I want you to experience as much as you can."

Mark nodded his head, though he mostly kept his eyes up at the sky. Hound smiled, taking in a deep breath. He had thought before about all the firsts he missed with this one. His first steps, his first words, his first day of school, and sometimes it did bug him. But even with a teenager there were many first yet to come, and this was the first of them. "Dad," Hound shook himself out of his thoughts. "This is really cool of you to do this, you know you didn't have to."

Hound shrugged a little, and smiled. "Kiddo, I had the night off," Hound told him rather politely. "I missed many of your firsts, though I am glad your father got to share them with you. But I also want to create some "firsts" of my own," Mark smiled a little at that. "I thought this was a nice start. Given that meteor showers hae always been a breathtaking sight to me."

Mark nodded again, too focused on the sight to do much else. They sat in silence again for several minutes before the brunt of the shower slowly began to die down. Finally, Hound deposited him onto his shoulder, despite the groaning from the boy. "Hey, you've still got a nice view," Hound offered, motioning to the sky. "And besides, it's growing late. We'll need to head back home soon."

Mark nodded his head and sighed, leaning into the crook of the mech's neck. "I wish we could just be like this forever," Hound raised an optic ridge in confusion. "Just the two of us, doing whatever we want to. Not having to go back to this war and all," Hound frowned, knowing he wished for the same thing. "I know it's a dumb wish, because it's your job. And you guys are saving the world and all of that," He admitted. "Just thinking out loud, I guess."

Hound shook his head, and gently patted Mark on the head. "Not dumb at all, I have the same wish some days," Hound replied. "I look at what some of the humans have with their children with envy." He explained. "I know that you are happy with me and all. But I know that we both wish we could have a more "normal" lifestyle," He then added. "Growing up on a military base cannot be much fun."

"Are you kidding me?" Hound stared at Mark in surprise. "It's a blast! That's not what I meant at all, big guy." He tried to assure him rather politely. "I meant because I wish you had less stress. And besides, we'd get more time to do this stuff." Hound nodded, understanding his meaning now. "Dad?" Hound looked back at him. "I've been thinking..."

"About what?" Hound questioned. "Has it hurt?"

Mark laughed, and tugged a wire in response. "No, you jerk," He replied, his smile slowly fading. "I was wondering... I haven't... I mean, I haven't gotten the chance to visit my dad yet." He paused a moment, and Hound raised an optic ridge. "I mean his grave, not the super-crazy middle-of-the-night visit. But you know, I just... he can't be getting too many visitors."

"You want to go and visit his grave?" Mark's only reply was a slow, quiet nod of his head. "Mark, that's in DC, right?" He questioned, his optics never leaving the boy, who again nodded. "That's gonna be a tough one to sell to Mearing. DC's quite the drive for something like that," Mark's brow furrowed slightly in response as he took a deep breath. "It'd be easier if we had a planned trip to DC already. Or if the president needed to speak to Prime, but just something out of the blue..."

"No, no, I understand," Mark cut him off. "It was probably a stupid idea, sorry. I just had been thinking about it ever since he "visited" me is all." He gave a half-smile at that. "Don't worry though, I can take it, I'm a big boy. Maybe next time you guys take a trip to DC I can come with you then."

Hound was silent a long moment, seeing through Mark's attempts to hide how upset he was. Could he convince Mearing to allow him and Sideswipe to accompany Mark on a short trip to DC to visit his father's grave? It wouldn't be easy, but he had a feeling it would be worth it. "I'll take to Prime, and maybe he can talk Mearing into it," Hound finally answered. "Chances are he'll be able to talk her into it, even if it's a while from now." He explained. "After all the insanity with the attack on your old neighborhood has died down."

"I understand," Mark smiled, his eyes traveling up. "You're the best, dad."

"Hopefully "the best" can get ye what ye want." Hound replied with a pat on Mark's head.

Mark then looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned to him again. "By the way, dad. I wanted to ask you to talk to Optimus about something else," Mark replied, as Hound raised an optic ridge. "It's about Lexi, you know, the girl I'm hanging out with?"

Hound smirked at that, this he knew was going to be good. "Oh? Should I be worried?"

"Nothing like that," Mark smiled a bit. "If anything I'm a little worried for myself. But I think it might get me a little closer to an actual relationship with her."

Hound could only imagine where _this _was going.

...

"Hey, Lexi!"

Alexis turned her head at the sound of Mark calling her name, shifting her purse further onto her shoulder. Of course, she quickly caught sight of the sleek, corvette form of Sideswipe as he drove steadily up beside her on the road outside her work. She smirked somewhat at the fact that Mark was in the driver's seat this time. "You do know you can't actually drive until you're sixteen, right?" She gently teased the boy. "If someone caught you there, you'd both be in heaps of trouble."

"Technically, Sides is the one driving," Mark cracked a grin at the redhead. "I'm just testing him on for size, seeing how I feel in the driver's seat. He rides nice and fine, but I think he'd ride even better with a passenger," He raised a suggestive eyebrow.

Alexis rolled her eyes, she definitely had to teach Mark tact. Yet at the same time, she didn't want to. There was a certain adorableness to the way he would try, in vain, to be a smooth operator. "You know, I dated a guy who actually acted like that once," Alexis told him with a grin. "My dad almost beat him half-to-death with a tire iron for it when he dumped me."

Mark paused a moment, though Sideswipe seemed to be chuckling. "The more stories I hear about your dad, the more he scares me," Mark gave a nervous chuckle, staring at her in the eyes. "But no seriously, you off work? Maybe you want to go to the movies? Catch lunch?" He questioned, the girl didn't seem to answer. "Come on, we haven't hung out in a week, I miss you."

"Do you miss me or the idea of dating me?"

Mark chewed his lip, but his answer came rather quickly. "You," Mark replied with an honest smile. "Who else is going to give me witty banter to keep me in line, right? And it's like you said, we're just friends." Alexis smirked a little as Sideswipe popped open the passenger's side door. "Plus, I was talking to the 'Bots the other day, and they gave me permission to... Ahem, bring you over," Alexis finally stopped at that. "Said it was about time they met you."

All semblance of playing hard to get slowly left Alexis as she turned to look at him. "You're kidding, right? How did you get that past the government?"

"That much was easy," Sideswipe commented. "We kicked Coulton's aft to the curb, temporarily at least. And Mearing, well after talking to her she basically said. "She can come in supervised but if she says a word of this, she'll do time for treason"." Alexis rolled her eyes at that. "Don't take it personally, Lexi, she says that to most people if she lets you on-base."

"And this was after Optimus talked her into it," Mark replied with a small chuckle. "She was dead-set against it. So if I were you I'd take the chance, chances are this could be a one-time deal," He put up one finger out the window for emphasis. "So are you coming, or what?" He questioned as Alexis now turned around fully to face him.

She bit her lip, and looked thoughtfully to the diner. Her dad would definitely need to be called and informed, yet how could she pass this up? This wasn't just the chance to meet the Ferari, it was the chance to meet them all. "Alright, Savoy, you win," Alexis stuck her tongue out playfully. "They aren't going to like grill me about our entire friendship though, right?" She questioned.

As Alexis climbed in, Mark turned to her slowly. "I don't think "grill" is the right word," He answered honestly. "They might get a little protective, but don't worry. Prime made them promise to be on their best behavior when he talked to them yesterday," He explained, shrugging his shoulders. "But you're going to get that whenever you meet them, so..."

"Got it, I'm putting my poker face on," Alexis smirked a little, crossing her arms. "If anything, they're guys, right?" She questioned, and Mark nodded. "Maybe I could use my feminine charms to MAKE them okay with me." She joked.

"Oh God, Lexi, bad mental image," Mark shook his head, though he couldn't help but laugh. "Please, I'm begging you, no dirty jokes in front of my dad when you meet him. I'm pretty sure you're liable to give the poor mech a spark attack," It was Alexis's turn to laugh. "But maybe, just maybe you can talk Mirage into finally giving you that ride you want so badly."

Alexis gave Mark a look, her eyes narrowing jokingly. "I knew you were just after a date," She jested.

"Too late, you're already in the car," Mark replied. "Step on it, Sides."

But Alexis didn't seem to mind, knowing that Mark was only kidding. Yet as they drove, Mark could barely keep his eyes off of her. When _was _he going to get that date from her? Everything felt so natural and right about their relationship, and yet, they took it so slow. It wasn't that he minded that much, but in the end, he hoped his chance would come soon. And perhaps, this day would be the one thing that he needed to put him over the top. "So, is there anything you _should _warn me about?" Alexis asked suddenly. "Before I find out the hard way?"

"Yeah, don't piss off the giant t-rex and you'll be fine."

Alexis's eyes nearly bulged out of her head at that. "There's a t-rex, what the hell?"

"Don't question it, just go with it," Mark waved his hand. "You'll see what I mean."

Or at least, he hoped Alexis would make it that far.

...

A/N: Yep, the 'Bots are going to get to meet the girl who has our little Mark smitten. XD Oh the fun that next chapter will bring. :P


	49. Meet The Family

**CHAPTER 49  
Meet The Family**

It only took five minutes for Mark to regret the entire idea. Why had he expected subtlty? There was never anything outright subtle about giant robots, so he didn't understand why he had expected it now. But still, almost immediately after they had entered, the roar of a gigantic t-rex sent the whole ground shaking as Mark gripped onto her hand. "Frag," Mark muttered, his eyes looking toward Alexis. "How good were you on the whole giant robotic dinosaurs thing?"

By the look on Alexis's face, she was definitely not okay with it. Or at least, not as okay as he wanted her to be if Grimlock was going to be coming to meet her now. He turned to Sideswipe as he transformed behind him, wheeling up in-between the two. "So there seriously ARE giant robot dinosaurs? That wasn't some kind of joke?" Mark nodded his head as she gathered her thoughts. "I think I'm sort of confused... I'm scared shitless and excited all at once."

"They have that effect on people," Sideswipe snorted a little. "Just be prepared to meet one of them in three... Two..."

Sideswipe hadn't even gotten to finish counting before Grimlock was in front of them. This time, Alexis snatched Mark's hand, much to the fourteen year old's surprise. For his part, Mark suppressed his laughter at the thought of Alexis, the tough girl she was, balking back at anything. "She human, her?" Grimlock questioned as he craned his neck around Mark.

"Yeah, this is her Grimlock," Mark patted the side of his friends head lightly. "Take it easy, alright? She's a little scared of you right now. You know how we talked about the whole "scare" factor you've got going on?" The Dinobot leader gave a puff of air in annoyance. "Come on, play nice and don't scare her, for me?" He questioned.

Alexis stood there, watching as the boy tried to calm the mech down. How was Mark this brave? Was he really this close with this giant, terrifying t-rex? She stiffened herself a bit, as if expecting this "Grimlock" to bite his head off at any moment. But eventually, the beast seemed to groan silently, and look him in the eyes. "Fine, me Grimlock play nice," Grimlock grumbled. "You human!" She jumped back as Grimlock addressed her. "You human like him Mark?" He questioned, motioning to Mark for emphasis.

Alexis put her hands in her pockets, trying her best to look casual despite the situation. Her eyes locked with Mark's knowing what answer he wanted, though she wasn't sure what he answer would ultimately be. After several moments, she nodded her head. "Y-Yeah," She stuttered, nervousness still shining through. "I do..."

"Good, because you human hurt him Mark," Grimlock told her slightly. "And me Grimlock play nice no more."

"Stand down, Grimlock."

Alexis turned as Optimus started to cross the main hangar, his optics scanning between the four of them. Now this was _definitely _almost more intimidating than the T-Rex. After all, nearly every human on Earth knew who Optimus Prime was. And now here he was, in the flesh and less than two feet away from her. "Me Grimlock just saying," Grimlock huffed as he started in a different direction. "Me Grimlock leave her human alone now, but me Grimlock watching her."

And with that, Alexis only felt more confused as the giant t-rex trudged off. Optimus gave a small, hefty laugh and then looked down at Alexis. "You will have to forgive the attitude of Grimlock. He is of a very high opinion of our youngest Autobot," Optimus explained, his voice warm and friendly. "You will find many of us on this base are rather..."

"Curious."

Mark facepalmed slightly as Crosshairs stepped up beside Optimus, his optics looking her over. He almost, _almost _felt relief in the fact that Drift and Prowl, at the very least stepped back. But First Aid, who Mark was almost surprised by due to their limited contact as of late, was just as bad as Crosshairs. "Primus almighty, kid, this is the femme you've been hiding from us?" First Aid spoke up first. "She's developing in her growth nicely, and she's very... Beautiful, especially for her age."

"Aw, please, Aid!" Crosshairs spoke up again, then motioned to her. "The sheila is HOT. And hot girls usually equal trouble, if you ask me." He crossed his arms a bit, her optics staring at her. "I hope you don't plan to get the runt into any trouble, girl. Or I'll have an iron fist with your name on it."

Prowl gave Crosshairs a small backhand at that, something Mark was undoubtedly thankful for. He shook his head a bit, his optics narrowing at Crosshairs. "Crosshairs, she is a _guest_, and you promised to behave," Prowl reminded him rather sternly. "If anyone is going to question her on her intentions with the boy, it will be me."

"Fine, I get to be the relative who tells her embarrassing stories," Crosshairs announced, turning back to her. "Sheila, tell me, has our boy here told you about the time-."

"Alright! Alright! That is enough!" Mark waved his hands, fearing whatever was coming next. "God, you guys are harder to handle than little kids sometimes." He blushed somewhat, and turned to Alexis, who looks amused and fearful all at once. "I am so sorry for them, Lexi. I swear, with every one but Optimus and Drift I sometimes wonder if I'd be better off raising myself."

"Are you even going to introduce me?" Alexis questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Right," Mark motioned to Optimus. "You obviously know the big guy is Optimus Prime, their leader. Also _the _coolest "uncle" on the planet." Optimus gave a polite nod and a dip of his helm, allowing Mark to continue. "The bonehead over there is Crosshairs. Just try to ignore him, it gets easy after the first few hours." He teased, as the mech gave him the bird. "Love you too, big guy. The one with the compliments is First Aid, he's a medic, the best they have one Earth too." That earned her a two finger salute from the mech.

"Who's the one that has the guts to make themselves a police car?" Alexis motioned to Prowl at that.

"Oh, that's Prowl. He's Prime's second in command, and the only person other than Prime who ranks above my dad," Mark then nodded towards Drift, who gave a small bow towards her. "And finally, you got Drift. Who literally needs no introduction. Because I mean, the guy is a samurai, all you need to know is he's a badaft." He then paused. "You also have Mirage, if he'll bring down that stupid cloaking device of his."

"How did you know?" Mirage questioned as he appeared in view just beside Drift.

"Your device is glitching again," Mark stuck his tongue out. "I could see part of your foot."

"Slag," Mirage grunted.

"So you're the Ferari!" Alexis squealed happily, jogging up to him. "Holy crap, can I ask you to take me for a spin? I've had daydreams about driving in a Ferari my entire life!" She added rather excitedly. "Why do you have an Italian accent? Did you land in Italy or something?"

"Primus, does this one have a mute button?" Mirage grunted.

Alexis frowned a little at that. "So the ferari IS antisocial."

"Told you so."

As the sound of a "throat" clearing echoed, Mark turned his head. Hound had finally made his way over, his soft blue optics looking over the two humans. "And last, but definitely super far from least," Mark motioned for Alexis to turn around. "This is my dad, Hound. Autobot weapons specialist, commando, and third-in-command." Hound gave a small wave.

"Whoa, so in other words, he has a nice gun collection," Alexis muttered.

"Heh, ye know it." Hound grinned. "Don't try anything funny though, and ye won't have a reason to meet it."

"Hey! You're forgettin' me again!" Mark stared down as Brains pushed his way between Drift and Prowl. "How's it goin', hot stuff?" Brains pushed his electric hair back slightly. "The name's Brains, Autobot interpreter." He made a few steps forward as Mark tried to resist the urge to punt the tiny mech several feet.

Alexis crouched low, a grin on her face. "Aren't you adorable?"

"No." Mark shook his head. "No, once you get to know him, he really isn't."

"That hurts kid, really hurts." Brains mocked.

Clearing his throat again, Hound crossed his arms as both teenagers turned to him. He nodded a little bit, and took a deep breath. "I think the three of us should take a walk, if everyone's done scaring the poor girl." He jested, earning some laughter from the others. "I think I've waited long enough to get the chance to meet Alexis. And I want to talk to her alone before any of you get a crack at her."

"Take away all the fun, why don't you?" Crosshairs grunted.

"Autobots," Optimus held a hand up to grab their attention. "Let us allow these three alone time. You may approach them once they are finished." After some hesitating, they began to walk off. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Alexis."

"You too."

As Optimus started off himself, Alexis felt her heart pounding. Alone? With a gun-totting giant robot, and his son? She gulped slightly, unsure of how to take her odds here. "Well then," Hound began, putting his hands together. "Should we go to my office? I think that would be the best place to sit down and talk." He then looked at Alexis. "Don't worry, I promise I won't make this too embarrassing fer ye."

And with that, he was off, heading towards his office. Turning to her, Mark smiled a bit, and shook his head. "Don't worry, they're all harmless," He reassured her. "I promise I won't let him grill you _too _hard." He added.

But even as she followed him, Alexis couldn't fight the feeling that it was not a promise he could keep.

...

A/N: A somewhat shorter chapter, but I wanted to keep the "official" introductions to be a chapter all of its own. :) The next chapter should be the usual length, after all, Hound has a lot to talk about with them. :)


	50. Honesty and Revelations

A/N: So, I thought I'd put this here. School starts again in two days for me! BOO! So this means that updates on this and my new story **"A DIFFERENT PATH"** will become less frequent. The reason? I graduate this semester! YAY! So I will be working hard to make sure I pass all my classes and for sure graduate. Both will still be updated, and I will be finishing **"A WHOLE NEW WORLD" **soon as well. Just don't expect the same level of updates you've gotten over the summer or in the past, as this is such an important semester for me. Thanks for understanding in advance.

And in other news, holy crap, 511 reviews!? Guysssss you have no idea how much I flipped out. I am so happy! :D Thank you all for the amazing reviews!

...

**CHAPTER 50  
Honesty and Revelations**

Mark couldn't have been any more nervous than he was while standing there in Hound's office. What would happen if Hound hated Alexis? It would be two potential girlfriend's in a row out the door, that's what. He rubbed the back of his head, and finally brought himself to sit down in one of the chairs, with Alexis in the other. Hound was looking between the two of them for a while before finally focusing upon Alexis. "Alright, I'm not exactly a "subtle" mech. Especially with my son," He explained rather poignantly. "So I'm just going to come out and ask what's on my mind. What exactly do you have in mind with this... Relationship?"

"Dad," Mark groaned quietly, looking up at the burly mech.

Alexis shook her head at Mark, waving her hand as if to say "it's fine". Yet Mark still felt a bit embarrassed, even if what Hound said was true, and he wasn't very subtle. "It's fine, really, I get it," Alexis told him rather politely, then stared up at Hound. "I'm not really sure about our "relationship" yet, Mr. Hound," She explained politely. "Mark is a great guy and all, but when we met I'd actually just gotten out of a crappy relationship. Which is why I've been taking this slow with him. I don't want to dive head-first into a relationship before I know he's not a jerk."

Mark wondered how Hound would take the mention of him possibly being a jerk. Would he get angry? Start yelling? After a moment, he got his answer as he gave a small smile. "Well then, ye got a good head on your shoulders at least," Hound explained, nodding his head. "Though, as his father, I will vouch that the son I am raising is far from a "jerk"." He then added. "If he acts like one, ye can call me personally, and I'll teach him the way to properly treat a lady."

"A dad with a chivalrous side," Alexis laughed. "I like you guys already," Mark sighed in relief at that. "But to be fair, he has been a perfect gentleman. That's not the reason we haven't gone on a date yet," She explained, crossing her arms and looking over at him. "That's because he still hasn't given me that ride in the Ferari he promised me."

"In Mirage?" Hound asked, baffled, before turning to Mark. "Do you have a death wish? If Mirage finds out you promised some random girl that he'll have a fit. You know how he feels about humans he doesn't really know." Alexis chuckled a little as Mark hid his face, blushing. "You'll have to forgive him, he and Mirage aren't very... Close, so he has a lot to learn."

"No, he actually tried to warn me," Alexis then added. "So points for not lying to me."

At least there was that coming out of this conversation, he would take the points. He sighed, leaned back, and looked at Hound. "So, has she passed your test or what?" He asked rather nervously. "Because like, I love you, but-."

"No, I need time alone with her for that," Hound replied, looking firmly at him. "So, that means, m'boy, that you have to leave us," Mark looked ready to argue, but Hound gave a look that said not to argue. "Sooner, rather than later."

Mark groaned quietly, but finally got up, and walked out the door. Leaving a somewhat-weary Alexis alone with her potential boyfriend's father. She'd done this before, but the size, and demeanor to him was new, and scared her the slightest bit. "I hope this doesn't mean I said anything wrong," Alexis chuckled quietly. "I really don't mean anything wrong, I swear."

"It doesn't, I simply wanted to discuss something out of earshot," Hound replied, his optics softening. "Ms. Tanner, I don't think I have to tell you this. But my son is going through a rough year. His father has died, he has had to settle into a new life, with a new family and friends." Alexis nodded her head, knowing exactly where this was leading. "I think you are a nice gal, and so I ask you to do me a personal favor. If you are going to take this relationship further, take it slowly, take it carefully. And if you aren't, don't lead him on any more." He explained. "Mark doesn't need his heart broken again."

Alexis slowly, but surely, nodded her head, understanding where he was coming from. This was his son, the only kid he had since he lost his biological (mechalogical maybe?) one. "I understand," Alexis nodded her head slowly. "I really, really like your son, Hound. But I just need a little more time to figure out exactly _what _my feelings for him are. And when I do figure it out, I promise, I'll make sure if it isn't that way that I put him down gently."

Hound looked at he, and slowly nodded. Sideswipe was right, Alexis seemed to be a good kid with a good head on her shoulders. And he had a good feeling that he would not have to worry about her breaking his heart like the last girl did. "I understand," Hound nodded his head slowly. "And that is all I ask, that you give him a fair chance, and treat him... Gently."

"I'm not like Maria," Alexis replied. "I would have anyway."

Hound smiled, understandingly able to believe her after all he heard from her lately. So the mech stood up, and nodded his head with a smile on his face. "Then if we have an understanding, we should not have a problem," He told her rather politely. "You can leave now, enjoy your visit, have fun," He chuckled a bit as they both headed for the door. "Just don't piss ol' Prowl off too bad, or make him glitch."

"Sides said that was fun, though," Alexis replied with a mischievous grin.

"So you don't play by the rules much then?" Alexis looked nervous at the mech's reply, but was comforted by the smirk on his face. "Good, rules aren't that much fun anyway."

Alexis smirked, she had a feeling that they were going to get along just fine.

...

Mark hated to say it, but he was relieved when Alexis left around an hour later. Though the Autobots had mostly behaved, he knew that they had at least somewhat overwhelmed her earlier, after all. But it was okay, because at the very least, Mark could say that her first meeting with his "family" had gone much better than expected. "I think that went much better than it could have gone," Hound commented as Mark re-entered the hangar after he dropped her off at home. "Though, Crosshairs will get his chance at telling embarrassing stories. I hope you realize that."

Mark smirked a little bit and shrugged his shoulders. "And when he does? He'll wake up painted pink, with rainbows and unicorns on him," He stated, rather bluntly and without a hint of joking.

The mental image made Hound snort quietly, shaking his head. Between the boy, and his partner-in-crime, Sideswipe, he had no doubt that he could make it happen. Not that he might have approved of provoking an easily angered paratrooper, but still. "What's your coffin size? I think we may need one for you if that happens," Mark frowned, sticking his tongue out. "Don't give me that look, kid. You _must _have a death wish between Mirage and that idea for a revenge prank."

"I thought we established that when I agreed to be adopted by the gun freak?"

Hound gave a playful pout at Mark for that one. But knew that was a joke, considering he didn't even let Mark within a few feet of his weapons vault. He shook his head a little bit, and popped another "cigar" into his mouth. "Don't judge me, my brother was the worst of the two of us," Mark laughed a little at that. "No trust me, he was. If you ever get to meet him if and when Crosshairs kills you, ask him about his cannons, I dare ye."

Mark had a feeling that he wouldn't have wanted to meet his "uncle"'s cannons. A sentiment only confirmed by the look of amusement that seemed to cross over the mech's face. "Dad?" Hound looked at him with curiosity. "Do you think she'll ever like me, y'know, that way?" He questioned, his eyes lowering to the ground. "I just keep trying to get there, but she's so hesitant."

Hound was silent, that was a good question. Stroking his beard for a little bit, he finally stared down at him again. "I think that relatinships are very complicated, Mark," He replied honestly his mouth curving into a thoughtful frown. "And if this girl doesn't see the fine catch ye are, then well... It's her loss, and she wasn't the one for ye." He then added. "That being said, I hope she does too. She seems like the right fit for you."

Mark smiled, somehow, it made him feel good to hear that from Hound. If anything, it reaffirmed to him the fact that she was something special to him. If not, at the very least, somewhat he had strong chemistry with. And yet he stopped himself short of thinking any further, after all, what was the point? The most he would do is build up a relationship that didn't even exist quite yet. "I hope you're right," Mark replied. "Because something about her just feels right... Something about _us _feels right." He corrected himself.

Hound smirked, noting how similar it seemed to feel to Mark as he did with his own sparkmate. Could someone so young have already found his own mate? He had no idea, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. After all, he was not ready to be planning a wedding any more than his son was ready to have one. So only time, and several years would tell. "Don't rush yerself into stuff like that too fast, kiddo," Hound offered, laughing. "The quicker you are to find the "right" one, the sooner you settle down."

"Uh, no," Mark shook his head. "I'm fourteen, I don't want that."

"You'd better not," Hound chuckled.

Mark laughed, though he noted the seriousness in Hound's optics and facepalmed. He still had a lot to learn when it came to humans, especially if he thought he would want that now. "Hound," Mark looked up as Optimus approached them both. "I know that we are winding down from the excitement today, but you are needed in the briefing room." Hound raised an optic ridge. "We have... A situation."

"What kind of situation?" Hound questioned.

"Coulton," Mark cringed a bit just hearing the man's name.

"What about him?"

"We have analyzed the footage from the attack in DC," Mark's eyes drifted a little bit at that as anger rose in his chest. "And much to our surprise, we have found one thing off about it." Mark didn't like where this was going, he didn't like it at all. "David Coulton could be seen aiding the Decepticons in the attack."

Hound watched as Mark nearly heaved on the floor, shock filling him. To tell the truth, his processor was filling with just as much shock too. Had their worst fears just been verified? Was David Coulton, a man who had worked for the government for years, really been a Decepticon Pretender? "Frag," Was all he eventually managed to get out of his mouth. "Does Capitol Hill know? Do they have him in custody?"

"Colonel Lennox is informing them now," Optimus replied. "But he no doubt has a contingency plan, and thus we must work quickly. IF he truly is a Pretender, or simply a human ally of theirs. There is no telling what he may have already told Galvatron." He noted.

And with that, Optimus was off to the briefing room, clearly rushed. Mark met Hound's glance, seeing the mech's conflict. "Go," Mark began, taking a deep breath. "Get out there, and find that bastard." He added.

"I'll be back as soon as I can be," Hound nodded. "I love you."

"Love you too."

But even as Hound jogged off after Optimus, he could feel his nerves building. If Coulton really was either one, if he really was _that _evil, then even he knew they were all in danger now.

...

A/N: Andddd Coulton's secret's out! :P I know it's a long time coming, but I needed to save it until we were closer to the finale. And believe it or not, we are working our way towards that.


	51. Fears and Discussions

KATNIP: Thanks! And there isn't a fight quite yet so he's fine. For now. *Evil Laughter*

A/N: So yeah, unfortunately no big fight scene yet, sorry if that disappoints you guys. But don't worry, a big fight IS coming, and it'll spread over several chapters. So there is that to look forward to. :D

...

**CHAPTER 51  
Fears and Discussions**

Just as Mark had worried, Coulton was gone by the time that the Autobots got to his home. Resulting in what could only be described as chaos. Most of the Autobots wanted to hunt him down, while Optimus and Lennox tried to keep the peace. But it was clear that wasn't happening, it was not unlike Optimus's vendetta against Attinger. And who could blame them? They'd been taken advantage of, they ALL had. And to say the least, Mark was among those that was the angriest. This man had said horrible things about his father, and yet here he was, helping the Decepticons murder an entire neighborhood of innocent people.

He hated to say it, but he had the urge to kill somebody, namely Coulton. A part of him, deep in the pits of his stomach wanted to punch him until he bled to death. And yet, that wasn't him, and he knew it. He wasn't even sure he could do that and take another man's life like that given the chance. "Mark?" Mark turned his head silently as he noticed Sideswipe rolling up to him in the main area on the Autobot side of the base. "Are you okay? You practically stormed out of the room at that news."

Mark shook his head, his eyes lifting up towards his guardian and best friend. "I'm just so angry," Mark shook his head, his eyes now trailing to the floor. "After all that mocking, and how I was a traitor to the human race... He went and he murdered all those people with them." He lowered his voice. "I knew Coulton was a scumbag, but this is just... I don't know what I was expecting. That he'd at least have SOME humanity?"

Sideswipe shook his head, though he understood what he meant. They had all thought that maybe there was a shred of humanity in the man, but now they knew there was none. They weren't even sure he was _human _or not anymore. "Yeah, well, at least it wasn't someone you actually cared about," Mark smirked, knowing that was true. "You know, betrayal is a fragger, but at least this wasn't actual betrayal. Just more confirmation that we should have kicked his sorry aft to the curb months ago."

Mark nodded, knowing that Sidseswipe was right about that much. This wasn't a betrayal, and it was for that reason, Mark felt like they should have seen it coming. "So, Mearing must be ripping whoever hired him apart, huh?" Sideswipe nodded, and Mark chuckled a little. "I barely know her yet, but I would hate to be that government official."

"Oh yeah, you know it. Trust me, someone is DEFINITELY getting fired," Mark nodded, and though he felt bad for them, wondered if they may have been just as guilty. "Don't worry too hard about this, Mark. We're gonna find him, and make sure he pays," The boy smiled, knowing that much was true. "And if he's not brought to justice, it's because either Grimlock ate him... Or someone finally just stepped on him."

Mark thought that either one would have been a good way to see Coulton meet his end. And heaven knew that the man deserved it, big time. Mark then looked thoughtfully in the distance for a long moment, before turning. "Another battle's coming, isn't it?" He asked, grabbing Sideswipe's attention. "Like the one's in Mission City? Chicago? Hong Hong?"

Sideswipe grimaced, almost hating the fact that Mark was no doubt right. Things were coming to a head, and Galvatron was no doubt planning something big. The only thing they could ask themselves at this point was "What?" and "When?". "I'm afraid so, kiddo. There's no avoiding it, we always try, but we never really succeed," Mark tried hard not to be worried about that. "Don't worry though, we'll win the fight, we always do."

At least there was that, Mark figured. At the end of the day the Autobots never didn't come out victorious. Even when the odds were stacked against them so greatly in Chicago and Hong Kong, they were able to fight back and win. "I just hope no one dies this time," Mark muttered. "I know I've only known you guys a few months... But I owe you guys everything for what you've done for me," He explained. "And I know you all lived through Hong Kong, but-."

"Hey," Sideswipe nudged him gently. "Nothing's going to happen to any of us, kid. We're gonna kick those Deceptifreaks, and Coulton back to the pit where they belong!" He stated rather enthusiastically, bringing out a sword for emphasis. "You just gotta have faith, Mark. As long as you have that, most things are possible."

"Did you just get philosophical on me?"

"Eh, I get one of those moments every orn or so."

Mark laughed a little at that, his eyes tracing their way back up to him. He couldn't imagine Sideswipe acting like this often, but at the very least, it was amusing to hear it once. "Alright, Ghandi," Mark teased lightly as he poked his leg. "But you're right, I guess I can't really worry yet. There isn't even a fight happening yet, so." He shrugged. "Maybe I'll just head to bed, it's been a long day and I need an escape."

"Probably a good idea," Sideswipe nodded. "Come on, I'll walk you to your room."

"You don't have to."

"You kidding me? If that freak Coulton is with them, I'm standing guard tonight." Sideswipe told him rather firmly. "That guy had a vendetta against you, Mark. The last thing I'm gonna do is let you sleep without someone watching over you."

Mark almost wanted to fight that, almost. But he also knew that Sideswipe was right to be worried, they all were all things considered. Taking a deep breath, he nodded, and allowed the silver mech to follow him to his room. He was definitely looking forward to a long night of sleep.

...

Hound was fairing no better than Mark was, his rage building up slowly. Primus knew he wanted to shoot Coulton dead, in fact, he would have given anything to at this point. And yet, he had to stay strong, and calm himself down for the sake of Mark at this point. The clear night did help, especially as he watched the stars slowly forming in the sky just outside the base. "Well, that was an... Interesting day," Hound turned his head as Crosshairs approached him. "At the very least, the girl seemed nice."

"It's not the girl I'm worried about," Hound admitted quietly. "It's the fact that not only is Coulton out there, but we could be right... We could have had a Decepticon pretender as our liaison and never known," He paused a moment, turning his head back to look at the stars. "One that we let abuse Mark, and treat us like slag for far too long."

Crosshairs nodded, his optics traveling up to the stars as well. It didn't surprise Hound that the mech agreed, after all, this was very disturbing. In a way, and int eh simplest of terms, they all felt violated by the man. And not for the first time, they even felt violated by the US Government. "I know how you feel, Hound. I'm angry as pit too," Crosshairs noted. "But you know what worries me most?"

"What?"

"If he's a 'Con," Crosshairs began with great hesitation. "He had so many opportunities to take Mark. _Too many_ opportunities," Hound nodded in agreement there. "So why has he let him go this long without being captured? Why simply try and crush his spirits?" He questioned, rather logically, one might add. "Galvatron knows he could bring us to our knees if he used him. He already showed that the last time he was almost taken..."

Hound didn't answer for a long moment. After all, the conversation made him understandably uncomfortable considering it was his son they were talking about. Inside, the thought of Coulton having even tried to take him was a disturbing one. Was this his eventual intention? "Perhaps he was smart enough to know if he ever touched my youngling... I'd blast him into so many pieces he'd wish he'd never been sparked," Hound stated with a low growl. "I'd let him know my distaste for him enough, anyway."

Crosshairs nodded, and seated himself on the ground silently. "Don't make a mistake, Hound. We all would," Crosshairs shook his head. "We may have gotten off to a rough start, but Mark is family. We look after our own," He explained, voicing a truth he had come to realize. "And that's why I never worry about the small fry. We would all protect him given the chance. Even Mirage, for all his coldness at least cares that much."

Hound smiled, it was a nice though, even if he hoped it wouldn't have to be proven. Or at least not again anyway, not after the last time where they _had _nearly lost him to the Decepticons. "Do you still think I was wrong?" Hound asked, causing his friend to raise an optic ridge in confusion. "For taking him in... For bringing him into this at all," He explained. "Should I have just left him alone that day?"

It took Crosshairs some time to think over the question. If he had been asked it at the beginning, the answer would have been all too simple. He would have not even had to think about it. Yet now that he knew the boy, now that he'd come to enjoy his company... "No," Crosshairs stated plainly as he shook his head. "I think it's only thanks to him we've all learned to trust the humans again. If it hadn't been for him and the Yeagers, well, I'm not sure what would have happened," He replied honestly. "We needed him."

Hound smirked. "So you finally admit that, huh?"

Crosshairs wanted to smack his close friend upside the head, but knew better. There was nothing wrong with stating the truth, even if it did mean admitting that at a time, he had been very wrong. "Besides, would he have been any better on his own?" He asked honestly, something Hound had to think about. "Even with all that Coulton did, and might still do... He has us, he has our group, and the other NEST officers." He then added. "He would have been targeted by Galvatron out of anger for what happened to some of the Decepticons anyway. And if he was gone, who would protect him?"

Hound shuddered at the thought of what that would mean. Imagining him on the streets. Alone, scared, and cornered by one of Meagtron's officers, who would no doubt finish him off. It was a thought that he quickly pushed out of his head, trying to save his processor the unwarranted stress. "I suppose you make a point there," Hound replied, his voice low. "Either way, his father connected him to this war. It's best that we took him in."

"Glad you're able to see reason still."

Hound sighed, turning back to the base. He knew he wouldn't be recharging until this was all over, but he also knew he had to try. "I'm headed back in, it's late," He began calmly. "I'm going to go bid Mark goodnight and then try and get recharge myself," He looked at his friend with great concern. "You should try to do the same thing, since I know you'll be worrying and angry tonight too."

"I don't know if I can even bring myself to recharge."

"Suit yerself," Hound nodded. "Goodnight, Crosshairs."

The walk back into the base seemed much longer than usual. But he quickened the pace quickly as he started towards Mark's room. As if he worried that sometime while he was gone, something had happened to him. He walked in, however, to a peaceful sight. Mark laying, asleep in bed, and Sideswipe, leaning against the wall, recharging, but with his sensors clearly on. He approached the boy carefully, watching as Sideswipe woke for a moment at the new movement, but only relaxed, and returned to recharge after realizing there was no threat.

There was no doubt in his processor that Mark would be well protected tonight.

Carefully, he ran a finger along his son's back. Smiling widely, and keeping his optics on the boy carefully. Mark only snuggled deeper into his mattress, smiling at his foster father's touch, relaxing. It was a position that Hound was able to leave him in for the night, knowing he would be safe. And at least for now, he would be able to relax knowing Coulton, nor the Decepticons would come for him that night.


	52. Promises and Therapists

KATNIP and POISONIVYKITTEN: Thanks! Glad you liked it!

A/N: Only a few more filler chapters left before the big battle! :) I'd say there will be two more including this one. Just wanted to get a few more fluffy chapters in there before this becomes action-packed. LOL

...

**CHAPTER 52  
Promises and Therapists**

The next week was full of paranoia. Most of the base was on high alert, wanting to make sure that nothing and no one got through. As a result, Alexis was now allowed to visit Mark rather than the other way around. If only because the Autobots were simply terrified to let him out. Which was understandable, because after all, he would be the perfect hostage in case another battle really happened. It was restricting, and for the most part, Mark hated it. But he also knew that he was safest with them, and didn't need to walk out on the streets constantly looking over his shoulder.

For his part, Hound was with him nearly every hour he could be. He watched movies with him, kept him around, and even walked him to bed at night. He knew it was mostly because he was scared, but he also enjoyed it. If only because it felt good to have his father at his side on a constant basis. That night, they were in front of the television, with Mark introducing Hound to his favorite movie of all time. Of course, it was something that Hound thought that he might like, as it involved cars, family, and science-fiction.

"It's still gross that his mom is trying to sleep with him," Hound shuddered, as he watched the adventures of Marty McFly. "I understand she doesn't know he's her child. And I also understand how complicated the whole situation is," He added, though he made another motion with his hand to the screen. "But come on, he should just tell her at this point!"

Mark rolled his eyes, knowing how badly that would end. He'd seen enough time travel movies in his life to know it never worked out well. Something usually went horribly wrong with your future if it happened, after all. "Dad, time travel's complicated. Look up The Butterfly Effect, and you'll see what I mean," He added, taking a handful of popcorn.

"Isn't that a movie you showed me?" Hound asked.

Mark laughed, and patted the mech's leg directly to his right, given he was in his massive lap. He sighed quietly, leaning back against his body calmly. "Good job, dad," Mark told him with a smirk. "You remembered for once." He felt Hound poke at his chest. "What? You always forget the names of movies! This is like, a miracle!" He then added. "Do you remember what it was about?"

Hound looked thoughtful, and Mark chuckled a little. Hound was good with a lot of things, but remembering movies, as much as he liked watching them, was not one of them. Mark chuckled quietly, but Hound looked down with only a playful pout. "Give me a break," Hound laughed himself, narrowing his optics playfully. "My processor ain't the same in my old age. And that's nothing for ye to laugh about."

Mark rolled his eyes, watching the movie closely again. But after a moment, he looked back up at him. "Wait, you're old? I thought the "grumpy old mech" things was kind of an act," Mark laughed a little bit. "How old are you, anyway?"

Hound rolled his optics, wishing he had simply kept his mouth shut. He rubbed the back of his helm, and then looked up at the ceiling for a whole two minutes. "Well, in human terms... I'm around fifty-six," Hound explained rather politely, much to Mark's shock. "Yes, I know. I've been around for a long time, but I'm not even the oldest Autobot there is," He then added. "One of our ranks, Kup, would be in his seventies in human terms."

Mark shook his head, unable to grasp that. Those Autobots, including his foster father, must have been around for an impossibly long amount of time. It was hard to believe that with his jovial personality, Hound came even close to being one of the older ones. "Wow, dad," Mark shook his head. "You're old enough to have known a couple of dinosaurs then, huh?"

"I'm not _that _old you little punk."

This time, Hound began to tickle his ribs, forgetting the movie for the present moment. Mark laughed loudly, falling back onto his leg (though Hound carefully cushioned it by propping his head up), and squirming. "Dad! You are way too playful for a tough mech!" Mark laughed, throwing his head back as he laughed. "And I am way too old to be tickled!"

"Ah, give it a rest," Hound smirked. "You like being tickled, just like Coldsteel did!"

Mark grinned a bit, but his laughs died down as Hound finally stopped. Mark did have to admit, he still liked this. He knew a lot of fourteen year olds would probably consider themselves too old for cuddling, and playing around with their parents. But then again, Mark was not a lot of kids, Mark was himself, the crazy kid with the Autobot for a dad. And when he got older, and had his own kids, he knew he would miss this time, so he savored in it now. "Dad?" Hound looked down at the boy. "I want you to promise me something."

"Oh?"

"No matter what happens, with all that's going on," Mark began, chewing his lip slightly. "That you're going to be around for more nights like these. Just the two of us..." He stated, his voice getting low and serious. "Promise me whatever happens, you won't..."

"Die?" Hound finished, to which Mark slowly nodded. "I'll do everything I can to stay safe, and stay here for you." He told him, his optics looking quietly down at him. "Mark, I," Hound wasn't sure if he could promise that and mean it. "I promise..." He finally decided on, knowing it was what Mark needed to hear. "I promise I'm going to be here to see you grow up. No matter what it takes."

And despite the dangers he knew he would be put in, it was a promise he planned to keep.

...

Of course, with all that was happening, social services decided to make a visit. This time, Mark was thankful it was Dana, his main social worker, that came to visit. The woman was nice, and very much supported the idea of Mark living with the Autobots. And as a result, most of the time, she and Mark had more civil and calm discussions with one another than he did when he was defiant with the other social workers. It was the reason that Dana had been the only person Mark and Hound had mentioned their intention for the adoption to. It was better that way with all the chaos that was happening, the rest could find out once they were in the clear, it made things easier.

And that was, unexpectedly, the topic of discussion as they walked along the halls of NEST. She looked at him with a smile, and brought up the conversation rather calmly. "So are you sure you're ready for adoption still?" Mark looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I just want to make sure everything's still going well, Mark. With all the attacks, and... The tragedies, I feel like your mind could change in an instant."

Mark laughed a little at that, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He knew well enough that Dana knew his answer, but still, decided to humor her. "They're my family," He told her after several moments of silence. "I know that there's been a lot going on. But I didn't sign up for a normal, un-eventful life. Crap like this is going to happen," He added, with the last part said rather glumly. "I don't blame them for what the Decepticons and Coulton did."

"And you shouldn't," Dana shook her head. "Though handling this would still be easier if you went to therapy," Mark rolled his eyes, taking a seat on a bench as she said that. "I know you think you're mentally alright... But Hound told me about your little mental breakdown after the assault on your old neighborhood." The boy was silent. "Not only is it good for your mental health, but it'll give the naysayers less ammo. If you're seeking help for what you are going through, and what you might end up going through."

"What do you mean?"

Dana seated herself down, and looked at him. "You've already been abducted once. And I'm sure that's a scary thing," Dana explained, causing Mark to squirm a little. "If you see a therapist regularly, even if it's just to see how you're doing... They can help with the after-effects of things like that," He was silent, though he was seeing her point. "Or when your father, or the other Autobots... Or heck, even the soldiers gets hurt and is put in the med bay."

"You really think a shrink would help with all of that?"

"And more," Dana nodded. "I know despite what you say, you're not totally over your dad's death. You've come to terms with it, and you've stopped "hating" him," Mark was silent at that, waiting for Dana to finish. "But I see it every time it's brought up - you get uncomfortable. What he did makes you sad, and uncomfortable. Something that maybe if you open up more to someone will be helped."

Mark frowned, he didn't like how good this was all sounding. He didn't want to talk about the stuff he mostly kept to himself, they were that way for a reason. But he also couldn't deny that Dana was making a very good, and rather firm point that made him mull it over in his head. "Alright," Mark nodded finally, looking Dana in the eyes. "If you and dad really want me in therapy, I'll give it a shot. But I can't promise I'm gonna like it."

Dana smiled, and patted Mark firmly on the back. "You won't at first. But before long you'll realize you're doing the right thing," Dana told him, rubbing his back. "The woman I've recommended to Hound works with a lot of kids like you. Ones that are in "special" situations," Mark nodded in understanding. "I've told her the whole situation, and she says that she'd be more than willing to take your case."

Mark simply twiddled his thumbs as Dana said all of this. He couldn't believe he was agreeing to this, but at the same time how could he not? But he could do this, especially if it helped their case more. "What if I don't like her, though?" Mark asked, his eyes filled with interest. "Are there any other people willing to take a "special" case like mine?"

"Plenty," Dana nodded. "A lot of people don't care about the situation. They just like to help kids that need it." Mark sighed with relief, and looked at her with his eyes filled with relief. "If you don't like her, we'll keep looking until we find someone you do like." At this, she stood to her feet, and turned to Mark. "I'm glad you're still this willing to be with them, y'know," Mark smiled a little at that. "You two are the most perfect foster pair I've seen in a long time."

Standing to his feet, he followed her towards where Hound was waiting. It surprised him, given they were of different species, and his dad had been Hound's enemy. And yet, Dana's statement seemed genuine, and served in the back of his mind as reaffirmation that this was right. That somehow he was meant to be Hound's son, and Hound, his dad. "I'm glad too," Mark nodded. "I know it's weird with all that's happened, but I really feel like all of this happened for a reason."

"How so?"

"I could be bouncing around between foster homes right now," Mark explained, his eyes looking up at the ceiling. "And I probably would be, considering my age and what my dad did." Dana didn't try to deny that, not that he was surprised. "But instead, I'm here. Living with a dad who loves me, and the coolest family of oddballs you'll ever meet." That earned a chuckle from the social worker. "Point is, I don't believe that it was just luck most days, Dana. I think I was supposed to get to this point." He then added. "Why else would a boy who lost a dad, and a mech who lost his son find each other?"

Dana looked impressed by the way he said that. And in a way, Mark was too, he hadn't always been one for profound statements like that. Even if he did feel that it was true, it was too much of a coincidence for it not to be. It was as if a higher power had pushed them together, slowly, but surely. "Well, luck, or whatever," Dana shook her head. "I think you two belong with each other."

"Yeah, me too."

As they reached Hound, Dana cleared her throat. "He agreed to the therapy. I'll set up the first appointment and call you with the details in a few days," She explained, to which Hound nodded. "But for now, I don't see any reason for me to say. Mark checks out like he always does, and you do too." She then added. "I'm still trying to get them to stop doing these silly two visits every two weeks crap."

"At least they care for his well being," Hound motioned forward towards the exit. "Might I show ye out, Ms. Walsh?"

"I know the place by heart by now," Dana smiled, shaking her head. "You two be good. And call me if there's any emergencies, or... Oh you know by now."

Mark laughed as Dana left, and Hound turned his attention back to him. Once she was out of earshot, he crossed his arms and looked up at the mech. "Therapy, really?" He asked, an unamused look on his face. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Telling some random stranger about NEST secrets?" He questioned, but noticed the amused look on the mech's face. "What?"

"She's no stranger," Hound replied. "She's Lennox's wife."

Mark's eyebrows shot up in surprise, in disbelief about that. But still sighed, he supposed that was better than a stranger. "Okay then," Mark muttered. "I guess I could at least give her a chance. For Lennox's sake."

"You'd already agreed," Hound snorted. "I'm not letting you take this one back."

Mark's only response was to stick his tongue out at the mech. But in the end, he had a feeling, that this was going to be better for him than he was making it out to be.


	53. Taking a Trophy

A/N: And it's back! A little explanation for the lack of updates. Basically this is nearing the end, and A Whole New World was at the end. I didn't want to write two finales at once. And thus I finished A Whole New World, which was already at the ending first. But now, A Matter of Fate has returned for its final chapters! :D

...

**CHAPTER 53  
Taking a Trophy  
**

The day that the entire world came crashing down in front of Mark started like any other day. On that day, he had brought Alexis to base for the day. And it began peacefully enough, with the two of them sharing a bowl of fruit while sitting on top of the roof. About mid-way through her fourth strawberry, however, Alexis sighed, and ceased her action, turning to look at Mark. "You must think I'm a jerk," Mark raised an eyebrow. "This is my third time here, ad I still haven't even kissed you, yet."

"I get that you want to go slow," Mark replied, his voice low. "Don't worry about it."

Alexis carefully pushed her red hair out of her face, turning to look at him again. He caught the look in her eye, carefully reading it. He wasn't sure whether or not Alexis was coming toward a point or not. "I like you, a lot Mark," Alexis began calmly. "And your family is great," Mark nodded his slowly, unable to argue with her. "But I also kinda know how this stuff goes. I fall for you, and someday you join up with this whole organization..."

"I'm getting published as an artist," Mark replied. "I'm not the fighting type."

"But you're being raised around the Autobots," Alexis explained. "Someday, you might just decide that's what you want. Not a normal life as an artist, with a girl like me who's nothing special-."

"You're an amazing hacker, what do you mean you're not special?"

Alexis sighed, huffing a bit, Mark wasn't making explaining herself easy. She scooted closer, and looked him in the eyes. As Mark sat there, expecting an answer of some sort at any moment. "I know you like me, Mark," She explained. "But are you sure with this life of yours you can settle for a small town girl? I'm never going to be as exciting as-."

Mark surprised her with a kiss, their first one. And at first, Alexis was shocked, and ready to slap him. But at the same time, as he leaned into her and pressed hard against her lips, she didn't want him to stop. "I'm not settling for anything," Mark told her quietly as he pulled away. "You're who I want. Not some "exciting" girl, or a soldier," He muttered. "Just you and me, and whatever else that means."

Alexis smirked, as if she needed convincing of that now. She blushed a bit, and looked back up into his eyes. "Anyone ever tell you that you're an amazing kisser?" She muttered, trying to catch her breath. "Alright, you have me convinced, barely... But I still want to talk," Mark frowned. "I like you like that too, but I think we're going to have to figure out how to make this work easier. Without me getting stared down by a giant t-rex for starters," Mark laughed a little, and then Alexis turned her head. "What was that?"

Mark stood to his feet at that, his head shooting down towards what she was talking about. His eyes quickly widened at the sight he saw: Coulton, being led with what looked like a military escort, cuffs on his wrists. "I'm going down there," Mark muttered, getting down from the ledge and onto the surface of the roof. "Promise I'll be right back," He explained.

"I'm coming with you," Alexis insisted, getting down as well. "About time I was around for some decent "action"," She added.

Mark nodded a little, allowing her to take his hand. He smiled, leading her down the steps to the main hangar, and straight for where Coulton and his escorts were. Most of the others had already gathered there, but, letting Alexis's hand go finally, he began to push his way through the gathered crowd. Eventually his eyes caught sight of Hound in the procession. "Dad!" Hound turned his head at Mark's voice as the boy stormed forward. "Is that really him? Did they get him?"

"Mark, you shouldn't be here. That's why I didn't call you when we got the call in about this two hours ago," Hound tensed a bit. "I know your feelings about him, and therefore I cannot let you do this." But Mark wasn't listening, he was simply storming towards Coulton, who was approaching very slowly. "Mark, don't do anything stupid!"

Of course, the moment Coulton was within reach however, Mark threw the hardest punch possible at his face. An action which happened so fast that it seemed as though Mark had caught his guards off-guard. The man however, simply chuckled darkly, and looked at him. "Did that feel good?" Coulton sneered. "I bet it did, I can only imagine how you've felt these past few weeks, Markie," He teased.

Mark's eyes flared with anger at the use of the nickname, which had been often used by his father. This time, he launched at him. "You son of a-!" Two guards pushed him back. "Let me at him!" He tried, but kept getting pushed back. "I oughta beat him over his stupid head with a crowbar!"

Coulton laughed, but Hound quickly moved forward to calm his son down. He could feel the pain he felt through the bond, but none-the-less, he didn't want Mark to get himself arrested. "So that's Coulton?" Hound turned his head as Alexis made her way through the crowd. "Geez, that punch looked like it hurt," She admitted, rather surprised. "How did he not hit the ground?"

Hound's optic ridge furrowed at Alexis's question, after all, it was a good one. His optics turned to Optimus, who was now trying to make his own way though the group. For a moment, he wondered if he should bring this up to the mech, but chose not to. At least for the moment, while Coulton was in custody. "You know, kid," Coulton tilted his head, and looked at Mark. "It was a real doozy pulling off what I did, but it was worth it," Mark began to rush forward a bit. "Very worth it."

"Why? Why my friends? Why all those innocent people!" Mark shouted in irritation, but Coulton merely continued to grin. "Answer me you freak!"

And now, Hound was moving forward faster, for two reasons. One, he knew Mark was losing control of his anger, and he needed to get him away before he went further. And the other not liking the look that he was looking at Mark with. "Well, now that Prime is here, I suppose I can tell," Optimus stared down at Coulton, uncertain. "It made it easier to get to _you _and the base, once I was fired, that is."

Before Mark could ask what he meant, the guards had turned their guns on the NEST soldiers. Their forms dropped, revealing robotics underneath, and therefore, pretenders. Before Hound could rush forward, Coulton already did, sucker punching Mark. He pulled his handcuffed arms around his neck, placing the chain link between them against his throat and pulling back. "Not today, Autobrat," Coulton smirked as he too began to transform into a sleek, black Decepticon. "You might want to worry about other things before you come after your little brat."

Mark had no time to question, only struggling against the pretender as the roof of the base exploded. His eyes shot up as Hound, who was rushing for him violently was tackled to the ground by Cyclonus. "DAD!" Mark kicked the pretender's ankle hard, managing to let him release him. "ALEXIS!" He shouted as his newfound girlfriend seemed to attempt to flee from the gunshots as a firefight broke out.

All around him, chaos had descended, Decepticons were coming in from every direction. Cannons, and other weapons at the ready. "Slag it all!" First Aid cried out, his optics searching around. "They cloaked their signals somehow, I'm getting signals in every direction!" He was cut off from anything more as the blast of a larger vehicon blew up the ground in front of him.

"NO!"

Before Mark could rush towards any of his friends however, cold metal wrapped around his neck. He cried out, fighting, and kicking as the eight eyed Pretender that was one Coulton held him close to his chest. "You're not going anywhere," Coulton kept his grip on him iron, and painful, dragging him back. "Lord Galvatron made it clear you were coming with us. Lucky you, you might be the only living Autobot by the end of the day."

As Mark punched him from behind, Coulton growled, breaking the handcuffs violently now. The pretender flipped Mark violently onto his back, making him cry out as he groaned to himself. "You really think a few moves you learned from that loser Sideswipe will work on me?" Coulton sneered. "I've been under this cover for decades, boy. I had to take down far more challenging opponents."

"Then why don't you give ME a try?" Hound snarled, slamming his way into Cyclonus. "You're not going anywhere with him!"

Coulton shook his head, watching Hound with a look of amusement. Only after a moment, Mark had realized why. His eyes turned at the transformation sound behind him, his eyes widening. The large jet behind him had just transformed, and what Mark saw next terrified him. It had been modified, and fitted with a cage in its chestplate. An OPEN cage, which seemed to signify where he was going. "Considering he plans to win this time," Coulton sneered. "Lord Galvatron _wants _his trophy this time."

As Mark began to run, he quickly found himself gripped in the vehicon behind him's claws. It wasted no time, shoving him into the capture compartment without a second thought. Mark's eyes widened, as the drone slammed the door to the compartment shut, leaving Mark pressed against the bars. "Let me go!" Mark growled. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"This time, you move. And this drone self destructs with your precious little boy in it," Coulton told Hound coldly, holding up a remote which he pulled from his subspace. "For now, I suggest having fun with Cyclonus," Hound's optics quickly met Mark's terrified ones. "Because win or lose the battle? I have forty Decepticons headed this way on top of the fifty here," He sneered. "I'd be saving my base if I were you."

Hound growled, rushing forward, ready to blast the mech to smithereens. And yet, Cyclonus rushed him from the side, digging into it with his talons, and grinning like a maniac. He tilted his head slightly at Hound, running a claw along his cheekplate. "Did you miss me, Hound?" Cyclonus asked, bringing out his blade. "I don't believe we ever finished that last round."

"DAD!" Mark shouted, kicking at the Cybertronium bars holding him in.

"Sighted female companion," The living cage that held him spoke up. "Shall Capture Bot 8837 proceed to capture her as well?"

Mark's eyes widened, his eyes looking over to see that Alexis was still trying to make an escape. She met his glance for half a second, but quickly caught his mouthing of the word "run". "He only said he wanted the 'Bots pet brought back alive," Coulton sneered. "You know him, one trophy for every conquest. And besides, if anyone survives this we're going to need some guarantee they won't interfere."

Mark stared over at Hound, who had kicked Cyclonus off of him, and now begun to fire repeatedly on him. Mark began to heave, Hound couldn't get past him, and to him. The Decepticons were leveling the base, and had him as their prisoner. A prisoner that was about to be delivered as a trophy to a tyrannical warlord. And for once, it was nothing more than extreme fear that made him beat against the cage. "DAD! DAD! PLEASE!" Hound was fighting, doing everything he could to get to him. "Don't let 'em take me!" He dissolved into complete and utter panic. "HELP!"

But Coulton was already in the palm of the capture bot. Sneering quietly at Mark. "Watch this, you'll love this part," Coulton laughed a little.

Cyclonus stepped aside at last, allowing Hound to make a bee-line for Mark and his captors. "_MARK!_" Hound shouted, so loudly that Mark could hear it over the jet engines starting up. "LET HIM GO! Take me instead! I'm fraggin' beggin' ye! Take me instead!" His voice cracked as the mech stood there, as if he were considering it. "I'll go without a fight if you'll take me as a trophy to Galvatron instead!"

Coulton stroked his chin, his red optics staring at Hound in his optics. Hound came closer, and closer, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Hm... I'll think about that a second," He spoke thoughtfully, and then dropped it. "No."

And with that the capture bot was sky rocketing into the air, leaving Hound screaming in rage on the ground. Mark watched as the base became further, and further away bellow his prison (though not far enough that he couldn't breathe), punching at the cage. It lasted for ten minutes before he finally gave up, knowing that it was useless, this time they had him. This time, they had made SURE no one was interfering. What did they plan to do though? What didn't they want the Autobots interfering with? "Down there," Coulton pointed, and Mark looked down.

What he saw next shocked him, not one, not five, not even ten, but at least 60 Decepticons stood nearby, surrounded by desert. His eyes caught the biggest, most intimidating of them first, and by the look in their optics, he knew it was Galvatron instantly. They landed slowly before the Decepticon tyrant, who motioned for his Decepticons to back up. "One Autobot pet, tagged, and bagged for you, my liege," Coulton patted the side of the capture bot. "I told you these capture bots of mine would make it easier. They're too attached to risk me actually blowing their precious human pets to pieces."

Galvatron brought his face close to the cage, smiling wickedly. Even for all of his bravery, Mark cowered back at the Decepticon leader, terror filling his eyes. "You've done well," He paused. "Coulton," The pretender smirked, knowing that Megatron using his name signified his pride in him. "Let the human out, from here on out, he moves on his own, without the capture bot."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Coulton questioned.

"I need him alive if we're going to use him to hold the Autobots off," Galvatron hissed. "I will not risk him dying if the Autobots decide to engage the capture bot," The bars of Mark's cage retracted, and he was roughly pulled out of it. "Awww, it appears to be scared," He teased as he clutched Mark tightly, causing his young prisoner to cry out in pain. "Silence, fleshling, if you know what is good for you."

"My dad's gonna come for me," Mark snapped. "He'll make you wish you'd never been created, you piece of scrap metal."

The Decepticons around him laughed as Galvatron regarded his young prisoner with amusement. "I knew your father, and he was a puny, psychotic little moron of a fleshling," Mark tried to struggle free, his teeth grinding. "Though I am thankful he had an offspring the Autobots took such an interest in." He crouched and tossed Mark to the ground roughly. "As long as I have you in my "care" the Autobots will not attack. And furthermore, I have a final prize from my victory."

"They won't die back there," Mark tried, his voice weak. "You couldn't kill them four times now, you think that's gonna change?" Galvatron grimaced, and stood up straight. "If anything, by taking me hostage? You just made them angrier than you've ever seen them," He added, cooly.

Galvatron regarded the young human for a moment, looking as if he might humor the idea. Galvatron nodded to Coulton, who had been set on the ground. The pretender took this as his cue to grab hold of Mark again. As a response, Mark felt an arm wrap tightly around his middle, hoisting him over his shoulder as he struggled. Mark punched and kicked with all his might, but quickly realized it was no use, he was at their mercy, even if he did get free from him, he was surrounded. He could do nothing to get free, not here anyway.

"Bring him to the tower you secured earlier this month," Galvatron waved him off. "Go along with one of the vehicons and await Cyclonus's arrival," He then glared cooly at Coulton. "If you screw this up, I hope you offline yourself before I get the chance to," He then turned to look over the rest of the Decepticons. "And as for the rest of you, prepare yourselves. For the moment our comrades return from laying waste to NEST, we will storm the human settlement known as Dallas. And take back the place we rightfully had in Chicago: as rulers of this planet."

Mark closed his eyes tightly at the collective cheering from the Decepticons. Only opening them as he was shoved unceremoniously into the backseat of a vehicon, seat belts shooting out and binding him to the seat tightly. "Oh, Mark," Coulton said cooly as he got into the car in human form. "If you could only see the look on your face right now. The shock, the fear."

"When I get out of this situation," Mark's teeth clenched tightly. "I'm going to _kill _you."

"Good luck with that," Coulton chuckled, allowing the vehicon to drive.

Before Mark could say anything else, a seatbelt inhumanly coiled up his back and around his mouth. Silencing any retort, and any scream he may have uttered.

...

A/N: I know, I promised another filler chapter. But honestly, I could not think of a good enough one and instead decided to get into the action. Don't worry, you guys WILL see the battle at NEST as well as the one at Dallas. We'll be seeing how the others are faring at NEST next chapter before the big battle goes down. ;)


	54. To Make A Stand

**CHAPTER 54  
To Make A Stand  
**

Hound wanted to offline, he wanted to offline right there and then. They had him, after all the promises he had made to Mark, the Decepticons now had them in their grasp. He trembled in anger, slamming his fist on the ground yet again as he turned to face Cyclonus. It had been his fault, his fault that he'd been distracted, his fault that his son was now a hostage and probably scared out of his mind. But he would get him back, and he'd tear through every Decepticon that got in his way, Cyclonus included. "I'm going to rip your sparks out," Hound growled. "I'm going to rip your and Coulton's sparks out and crush them into so many pieces," That time, it was said in a snarl.

"Come on, it's not like we killed the brat," Cyclonus sneered. "Somebody needs to calm himself do-."

Cyclonus was shot back by a large blast sending him flying into the nearby wall. His head shot up as Hound rushed forward and he threw a violent punch with a roar of anger. This was definitely a moment of pure rage when it came to Hound. He was only this violent when he was truly enraged, and the amount of sheer force he came at him with actually scared Cyclonus. Around them, the crippled NEST Base was only crippling further as many soldiers continued the fight. And Hound was surprised when, out of the corner of his optic, he saw that Alexis had picked up a fallen soldier's gun and joined the fight.

Mark certainly had found an interesting choice of perspective mate. Between her mechanics prowess, and the fact that she was as quick on her feet as she seemed to be. But he would think about that at another time, when said boy was not in the danger he was in. "You really are a thorn in my side," Cyclonus growled, pulling himself off the floor. "All this rage over a human boy. One whose father butchered countless of our kind!" He snarled. "The child should be flayed alive as far as I'm concerned. An eye for an eye, as the humans say."

"Shut up!" Hound shouted. "I'd rather not hear your voice anymore. Unless it's begging me for mercy," He added coldly.

And then he charged forward again, slamming his fist violently into his spark chamber. Cyclonus shrieked in surprise, now he wasn't just scared, he was _terrified_. He growled, trying his best to keep the fist from penetrating it. "Frag it all," Cyclonus growled. "You think you can do this to me? You're not a cold-blooded killer, not a Decepticon," He snickered. "You won't offline me."

Hound knew that was true, he wasn't a cold-blooded killer. He was a loving, soft mech, but he was also a commando, a fighter. And he'd be slagged if he let that not come out when it came to his son. He'd lost one of them, but he sure as pit wasn't losing another one. "You don't get that Hound today," Hound told him with a low snarl. "You helped them take my son. You get the Hound no one lives to tell the tale of today."

Cyclonus was shocked when he immediately grabbed a chunk of his armor, and ripped it off before throwing him through a wall. Cyclonus's body ached as he barely managed to keep his wing from being damaged. Yep, a terrifying Hound was definitely a force to be reckoned with. "If ye tell me where they took him," Hound began, stepping through the Cyclonus sized hole in the wall. "I might show you a little mercy."

"Eat slag," Cyclonus growled.

Arming one of his largest guns, Hound made his way slowly towards Cyclonus. "Wrong answer," Hound told him coldly. "Ye see, I don't frag around when it comes to my little boy. He's all I've got in the way of family," He approached even closer. "You either tell me where he is, or I use this rust gun we developed from Sentinel's old weapon. You'll be nothing but dust by the time it's done with you."

"You're bluffing!" Cyclonus mocked.

"Try me," Hound smirked, aiming the weapon at him.

He pushed it harshly against his temple, ignoring the carnage all around him. But Cyclonus only wavered when he finally heard the cannon firing up. "Okay! OKAY!" The mech shouted. "Dallas! They took your little bratling to Dallas!" His voice was clearly filled with fear. "They're going to attack it like they did Chicago! Ruin your reputation again!"

"See was that so hard?" Hound mocked.

"You're not going to shoot me?"

Hound pulled the trigger the rest of the way, revealing it had not been armed at all. Hound smirked and smashed it into Cyclonus's helm, crushing it inward. With any luck, it would smash his processor and end that pest for good. He flinched as more explosions rang out behind him, his optics traveling towards the other side of the NEST base. It was carnage now, and he could see his human comrades as they now were trying everything to survive. "Hound, we gotta go!" Crosshairs approached him grabbing his arm. "Optimus has ordered a retreat!"

"We have to defend our base! OUR HOME!" Hound shouted.

"Look around you, Hound," Crosshairs motioned around. "There's barely a home left to defend! And in a few seconds we're going to have seekers up our tailpipes!" Hound's face fell at the thought of that. "Where's Mark? I thought he would be with you!"

"They got him, 'Hairs," Hound looked at Crosshairs in despair. "They made off with him before most of the destruction started."

The look on Crosshairs face was nearly unreadable, but Hound knew that he was in despair as well. He shook his head, and shuttered his optics. "We gotta go, Hound," Crosshairs shook his head. "We can't go after them now, we need a plan of attack that doesn't involve standing here while the place goes down," Hound watched as more of the roof caved in. "Come the frag on!"

With great reluctance, Hound rushed out as quickly as he could with Crosshairs. Seeing that most of their main allies had gotten out, with Alexis even being with Sideswipe. Not that it mattered much now, it was over. NEST was laid to waste, and who knew what they had planned for Dallas. It was all Hound could do not to shrink back into a ball, once again they were homeless, once again, they were on the run...

And once again, he didn't have a family.

...

Mark had only ever seen the destruction in Chicago from a television screen. But the destruction of Dallas, he got the front row seats he never wanted to. He was led by a large group of pretenders under Coulton's command. His hands cuffed behind his back as he was led into what he could only describe as the thirty story skyscraper from hell. It was only when they reached the penthouse suite that he was shoved onto a couch, and made to sit. Coulton himself, appeared within time, a glass of high grade in his hand.

Outside, Mark could only see chaos, pure and utter chaos. They hadn't done as much damage as they had in Chicago, yet. But slowly, the Decepticon's forces were entering the city, he could see people running in an attempt to escape. Buildings crumbled, entire families were wiped out. And in his line of vision, he could see some of the vehicon drones even beginning to gather people outside the building they were in. Only to mercilessly gun them down before his very eyes, a sight which made him cringe. He felt tears fill his eyes as fear, disgust, and sadness filled him.

"Get used to it," Coulton sneered. "You're Galvatron's new pet. You'll see mass executions daily." The statement made Mark stare up at him with a dark look of pure hatred.

"You know, I don't do the damsel in distress thing," Mark growled as Coulton turned his head to look at him. "Besides, didn't I hear that Dylan Gould freak tried this same crap with Sam Witwicky's girlfriend? You do know how that ended for hi-."

The punch to his face shocked him, but even so it was there. Coulton had just punched him, causing the side of his mouth to bleed as he spat some of it out. "This isn't Chicago, and I'm not that buffoon Gould," Mark grimaced up at the pretender, who simply smirked and chuckled. "And quite frankly, if he had been smart, he would have taken Witwicky himself." He then added. "It's much more personal that way."

"You're still gonna die," Mark muttered. "They'll come for me. And you'd better believe they'll come to stop this," He groaned as Coulton approached him slowly. "Go on, punch me again, every mark you put on me? Is just going to make them even more mad." Coulton grimaced at that.

This time, he kicked him hard in the stomach, causing Mark to shriek. Coulton then sighed, and looked between two of his fellow pretenders. "Well if they launch a rescue mission that just makes this whole thing more fun for me," He winked at Mark mockingly. "They'll be lambs to the slaughter, as you humans say," He then motioned. "Escort Mr. Savoy to his room, have armed guards on him at all times," He then added. "If he does anything stupid, you have my permission to torture him until he can no longer move."

"They're gonna kill you, Coulton," Mark spat blood in his face. "You'll be lucky if they get to you first."

Coulton gave no reply as he was dragged away, and towards whatever "accommodations" they had for him.

...

It was quite the sight that night to anyone who may have been close to the desert. A group of Autobots, soldiers, Dinobots, and Alexis all gathered around makeshift campfires, and listening to both the radio and news feeds. Without much shock from them, they all heard about Dallas not long after the carnage began. Several people, including Hound, removed their hats in mourning. "I can't believe we let Coulton get under our noses like that," Epps was the first to speak after they had shut the radio off. "I hope I get a chance to shove my gun up-."

"We're not going to get that chance," Lennox spoke, his voice low as he ran his hand over his face. "Not unless we have a plan and the whole army behind us. In Chicago, NEST was still functional. We had our overseas branches and most of the government on our side," He shook his head. "This isn't like Mission City. That was an Armada, if we go in there now-."

"Since when did we give up, man?" Epps shook his head. "I know I'm going to fight. You can give up before we've even tried if you want. But I didn't sign back up for this crap just to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves."

Hound watched Optimus from the corner of his optic, unsure of his thoughts. Though he knew what conclusion he would, ultimately, come to. Of course, as always, Optimus would fight. "Y'all can do what ye want. But I'm definitely going in there," Hound told them firmly. "They've got my son in there. And come hell or highwater, as you say, I'm getting him back."

Alexis, who was seated next to Sideswipe, looked up at Hound's statement. "How? You can't just storm up to the city," Alexis shook her head. "Even if we could work out a way to get you in there... Who knows where they're holding him," She paused. "Oh, who am I kidding?" She snorted. "I'm with the big lug, after all, he is my boyfriend."

That got the attention of most of the Autobots, though she clearly blushed. It was the first time she had called Mark her "boyfriend" and to say the least, it felt weird, but a good weird. "Alright, I get it," Lennox shook his head. "We can't give up, obviously. I didn't mean that either," He paused a moment. "But we can't just go in there blindly, Alexis is right." He took a deep breath. "We're surrounded by desert. Unlike Chicago there is no "sneaky" way in. And if Hound has his way he'll just go in there shooting at anything that moves."

"If Annabelle were in there, you'd do the same."

Lennox could not argue with the big mech's logic there. After a moment, however, Optimus stood to his feet, causing all side-chatter to cease. The mech stood there for a long moment, and then brought out something that they had not seen for some time. One of the swords of the "Knights of Cybertron". "When I was decreed a Knight of Cybertron, I dedicated my life to defending justice from those who would see it destroyed," He stabbed the sword into the ground. "And while for a time I lost my faith in this planet, and its species. My faith was re-ignited, as you all well know."

"Yeah, thankful for that one." Epps muttered.

"And thus, I have no hesitation in my belief now," Optimus explained. "Galvatron _must _be stopped. Though we have been tricked by many, Coulton included. And the world no doubt again sees us as a menace," He looked firmly all around. "I will still lead a siege upon his forces with everything I have. In hopes that we may end this Primus-forsaken war," He then added. "And if any here are willing to join me, then so be it," He then began. "But this is my duty as a knight, my duty as Prime, and my duty as a citizen of this Earth," He flared slightly. "And I will not forsake it, nor will I forsake our captured friend."

All of the Autobots joined Optimus in standing, much to Hound's surprise. But then again, perhaps they too, had their faith in humanity slowly restored. He looked at Crosshairs, who shrugged a little bit. "Well, what can I say?" Crosshairs snorted. "Not all the buggers on this planet are _so _bad."

"Me Grimlock," Optimus stared over as the large T-Rex stepped forward. "Stand with you," He then added. "Us Dinobots, all stand with you Autobots."

Slowly, the humans joined as well, though for a moment, it was clear that everyone was hesitant. These were odds that none of them had faced before, this time there was no clever way of getting around the government like in Egypt. There was no way of hiding and stealthily entering like in Chicago. And it sure as heck wasn't a small invasion like Mission City had ultimately been. It was Chicago on a Hong Kong-sized level, and with NEST base in ruins, heaven only knew how something like this would go down.

"Alexis," Hound began. "Perhaps-."

"I know about Sam, Mikaela, and Carly," Alexis scoffed. "Mark told me the stories. You can't say this is "too dangerous" for me. So I'm going whether you want me to or not." She then added. "With Mark in there, and my home in danger, I can't NOT."

"She can ride with me," Sideswipe stated.

Hound opened his mouth, but knew it was worthless to argue. Lennox looked around, then put a hand on Epps's shoulder. "Get ahold of whoever we can," Lennox asserted. "If we're really going to do this, we need Sabot rounds, and a bigger arsenal." Epps nodded as he rushed off to get a radio. "So I take it you probably have a plan going in that processor of yours, eh big guy?"

"I do," Optimus replied. "I believe that you are all familiar with the concept of a "Trojan Horse"." Lennox's eyebrows shot up. "We're going to need a lot of metal too, Robert Epps."

Lennox and Epps simply stared at one another, uncertainty in their eyes. But as Optimus began to relay his plan to them, all soon made sense.

...

A/N: Stay tuned, because next chapter, the Battle of Dallas begins!


	55. The Battle of Dallas: Part 1

**CHAPTER 55  
The Battle of Dallas: Part 1  
**

Fear pumped through Mark's veins like blood, tears long ago drying in his eyes. The chain that secured his handcuffs together had been wrapped around the headboard of the bed in his "room", making his arms constantly above his head. The guards came in every so often, some taking glee in tormenting him, of feeling his flesh, and, for some, dissect and study him But Coulton wouldn't allow that, noting that Galvatron didn't like his pets to be touched, or otherwise played with by anyone else. Mark closed his eyes, the Autobots had still not been heard from, maybe he was wrong. Maybe they wouldn't find him to be worth the trouble of going through another Chicago. Not for the kid whose dad had helped make any of this possible.

No one was coming, he convinced himself. Hound and the others were probably long gone by now. _"Mark..." _Mark's head shot up, speak of the devil, was that the bond. _"Mark, can you hear me? Please, sparklin' say something..."_

_"Dad?"_ Mark replied through their bond, relief sweeping over him. _"Aw, man dad. I was so scared, I thought..." _

_"It's alright, son, I know you're scared," _Hound's voice came through loud and clear as he sent a soothing feeling through the bond. _"Don't worry, kiddo. We're comin' for ye, all of us," _Mark's eyes lit up at that. _"Well, we're here to save Dallas too. But I'll be slagged if our number one priority at the moment ain't making sure you're okay," _Mark felt a wave of relief hit him._ "Can you tell me where they took you, son? Even if it's just a minor description, we need to know where we're going if we're gonna break you free."_

Mark tried to remember details of the tower he'd been taken to. It was hard to remember thanks to all the fear, but he did his best. He tried to turn over slightly, and look outside the window. He could barely see the exterior but began. _"It's giant, like this huge tower thing... I'm right in the center of town I think, but I can't really tell," _Mark shook his head slowly. _"I-I don't remember anything else. I've seen the inside of this bedroom too long, I can barely see out the window."_

_"That's okay, kiddo, that's good." _Hound soothed him tenderly. _"I'm going to break contact, but not because we want to. Only because we can't let the Decepticons get any indication of foul play," _Mark blinked, unsure of what that meant. _"Just hang in there a little longer, kiddo. We're coming for ye, and I'll tear down any Decepticon that stands in my way."_

Mark didn't reply, but now sighed and felt tears of relief fill his eyes. Hound was coming for him, they all were. They were going to fight there way through Dallas, but they were not just going to leave him there. His eyes shot up as the door was once again thrown open and a Pretender stepped inside. "If you try anything, I have orders to take you dead or alive," The mech spoke coldly.

As he approached, he carefully began to unlock the handcuffs as Mark groaned in pain. It took a moment to get his hands to go at his sides, but once he did, the pretender gripped his arm and dragged him out of the bedroom. Again, Coulton waited in the den, holding a glass of high grade. "What now?" Mark grunted. "Aren't you done screwing around with me yet?" He questioned.

"Now, now, let's not be hostile about this," Coulton turned around. "I sent you to your room in hope that you would stop being so defiant. But of course, I suppose I should have known better," He sighed, shaking his head as he approached Mark. "Lucky for you, I'm not the one that wants to talk." He commented, pointing towards an elevator near the door. "Get moving, or, well, you know the drill by now."

Mark clenched his fists but did as he was told as Coulton led him into the elevator. They traveled up slowly for what seemed like hours, but he knew was only seconds until the door opened up to the roof. Where Galvatron, who Mark guessed had scaled the building, stood. "So you finally decided to show your ugly face," Mark chuckled, looking up at Galvatron. "What do you want?"

"Don't talk to your master like that," He felt Coulton slam his fist into the thick of his back, making him fall to his knees. "If you continue to disrespect him, I will personally cut your vocal chords-."

"Shut up, Coulton," Galvatron told him coldly. "You've already beaten and bruised my trophy enough. And no more harm comes to him unless it is at my hands," Mark trembled slightly as Galvatron moved a talon forward, and ran it along his cheek. "I see you have realized you have reason to be afraid, fleshling. So you are a wise one then." He then added. "Come forward."

Mark knew he had no choice, simply standing to his feet. He approached the tyrant slowly, and he quickly pushed him forward towards the edge. Mark tried to avert his gaze, realizing that the city was now nearly in ruin. Prisoners were being taken, resistance being executed, and entire city blocks reduced to dust and ash. "See this? This is my proof to you that your defiance is worthless," Mark gulped slightly at Galvatron's words. "You say to Coulton that the Autobots will come for you. But how could they when they are too cowardly to come for these innocents?"

"You're crazy," Mark shook his head. "Why are you doing this?"

"Survival of the fittest," Galvatron noted, he looked at Mark. "You should be honored, when the rest of the world falls to me, they will need a leader. And as my chosen trophy, and pet," He began rather cooly. "You will hold that position."

"I won't work for you," Mark shook his head. "I'm an Autobot, and I always will be," Galvatron's smirk faded. "So, without ANY due respect Galvatron? Go burn in that pit of yours!"

Have you ever been slapped by the index finger of a giant robot? Mark had, and he was lucky Galvatron belittled his strength enough that he wouldn't kill him. After a moment, he began to move down to the surface of the roof and approach when someone shouted for him over his com link. "What do you mean the humans have brought a gift of good will?" Galvatron hissed as Mark struggled to get to his feet. "... Keep them there, I need to see this for myself."

"What's going on?" Coulton asked.

"The humans have decided to hand over the Autobots," Galvatron sneered. "It would seem they really _are _tired of this. Enough so that their own comrades are willing to give them to me," He looked at Mark. "Now whatever will you do? My little pet," He snickered.

"It could be a trap," Coulton replied cooly. "This is too easy."

"If it is, we will deal with them, and the boy accordingly," Galvatron told Coulton cooly. "For now, however, I will believe it is a sign of human stupidity," He stated. "Such dumb creatures, the humans," He explained. "They should know by now they all will die with the Autobots for their defiance," He added with a sneer.

With this, Galvatron made a giant bound for a smaller building, which to Mark's surprise, he seemed to land on. The boy groaned as Coulton began to approach, revealing a gun from his pocket. "C'mon, my little friend," He stated, pointing the gun for him. "Time to be a part of our plans on a much larger scale," He began.

"Not a chance," Mark growled.

With the sharpest kick he could muster, he kicked out at Coulton's leg. The mech toppled over, and Mark grabbed the handgun in the process, turning it on Coulton. Pointing it at him, his eyes narrowed. "You have to be kidding me," Coulton sneered. "You honestly are the dumbest human I have ever met," He added rather harshly.

"I never learn," Mark shrugged. "I guess you could say it's my strong suit."

"Or the thing that will get you killed."

Mark blinked a bit, but soon realized what he meant at the loud thud of a landing mech. Though his helm had been crushed inward, Cyclonus had arrived, online, and armed with his deadly blades. "Oh I love it when the prisoners rebel," Mark turned, aiming the gun at Cyclonus. "What are you going to do? Shoot me, little human?" Mark shook his head, backing up. "You're an idiot if you think you can get out of there, armed with nothing but a handgun."

Mark's eyes shot up searching the air for something, anything. And that's when he spotted it, barely visible through the clouds, but the figure was still visible. A two headed, giant, metal pterodactyl. _Strafe! _Mark thought in relief, for once, thankful for the fact that the Decepticons would _not _be carrying a normal Autobot energy signature.

As he stared up at Cyclonus, he could only hope that whatever was going on, they knew what they were doing. But for now, he had to keep them believing nothing was coming. And so, dropping the gun, he looked up at Cyclonus who grabbed him from the ground, and held him up close. "'Atta boy," Cyclonus chuckled. "Was that so hard?"

Mark prayed inwardly that the Autobots would hurry as Cyclonus began to run his claws along his side. His optics filled with malice, and, furthermore, with glee. It was a look that even Mark didn't like the look of.

...

The "Trojan horse" that the Autobots had built was just big enough to hold them all. And yet, still cramped enough that it seemed like the prison they were trying to make it out to be. As he leaned against the far back corner, Hound was silent, his optics looking along his Autobot comrades. They all looked nervous, and quite frankly, he didn't blame them. This could be the end, they were so outnumbered, and to say the least if they couldn't kill the Decepticons now... "Y'know, before we do this, I want to say something," He began calmly. "If we all go down doing this? It was a heck of an honor to fight alongside ye."

Crosshairs, who was to his immediate right, gave a small fist bump. The look in his optics said it all: he was very doubtful they would win. At least with these, rather grim odds. "Yeah, if I'm gonna go offline today, I'm glad it will be alongside all of ye," He took a deep breath. "But we can hope that hacker femme of Mark's is really as good as she says. If she can create that big a diversion then we might stand a chance." He shook his head. "I mean, hacking the entire power grid of a city is a pit of a feat."

Hound thought of Alexis, who had gone into the city ahead of time under Mirage's cloak. It was all riding on the two of them creating the massive power surge to the grid of the city now. If they could create a distraction long enough, it would be all they needed to create enough chaos to catch the Decepticons by surprise. Or so they hoped. "If I don't make it out," Hound muttered, looking at Crosshairs. "And you do? Tell Mark, I'm sorry."

To the side, he felt Optimus's hand fall upon him now. "You will see him again, Hound," He told him with as calm and gentle a voice as he could manage. "We will not die here today," He added. "No matter the odds." He then echoed. "And if we do somehow fall, it was an honor serving alongside all of you," He added for good measure, with everyone replying with the same statement.

As the transport they created came to a stop, everyone stiffened. Hound prepared his nearest, and biggest gun, frowning quietly as outside, they heard a familiar voice: Galvatron. "Humankind never ceases to amaze me," Galvatron hissed. "You would hand over your own comrades, and for what?" He questioned. "As an apology for your defiance?"

"A gift of goodwill from our government," Lennox began from outside as Optimus peeked through the single, barred window. "I assure you, Lord Galvatron, we are here to make peace with the Decepticons. You won, you crippled NEST, and frankly, the President is tired of this crap," He then added. "All we ask in return for this is your mercy."

Galvatron seemed to think it over quietly, peering down at Lennox. For a moment, it was not clear whether he was buying this. But slowly, he approached Lennox. "I thank your president for the "gift"," Galvatron growled. "But give me a reason I should grant any of you MERCY? Did you grant any to my mechs? Mechs who were good people?" Crosshairs scoffed at that, Galvatron was clearly lying through his denta now for the sake of making a spectacle. "Mechs with families, and-."

"Lord Galvatron, we never-."

"Shut up," Galvatron snarled. "We accept this gift. But we do not accept _your _apologies," Before Optimus knew what was happening, several vehicons began to approach them. "Round them all up, bring them to the execution line. And allow me the first shot," He sneered a bit. "The rest of you, get the Autobots out of the transport. We shall deal with them in a more public setting."

Panic rose over the Autobots, realizing that nothing had happened. They would open the container and notice the missing Dinobots, they would notice the fact that Mirage was missing too. "Come on, sheila," Crosshairs muttered.

"Any time now," Hound agreed.

And just as a vehicon had approached the door, all of Dallas went crazy. They could all hear shouts of surprise as all around them, electricity, and electronics inside what buildings remained began to go crazy. Optimus smirked, his optics flashing eagerly. They had succeeded, or rather, Alexis and Mirage had. "What is the meaning of this!?" Galvatron shouted amongst it all. "What is all this infernal racket!?"

When the first vehicon went down, Optimus drew out his gun, gripping it tightly. "AUTOBOTS, ROLL OUT!"

The "locked' steel door at the front of their "cage" was smashed open. And before Galvatron could even properly react, the Autobots opened fire, shooting down multiple vehicons, whom went down without standing much of a chance. "You fools! The spy!" Galvatron looked around the Autobots that were flooding out. "Where the slag is the spy, MIRAGE!?"

"With a young hacker friend of ours," Optimus spoke calmly. "I believe you've bore witness to her handiwork."

Galvatron snarled staring around, he could now see the mech, sans cloak, tearing down the streets of Dallas, off to who knows where. He turned, and slammed his fist towards Optimus, who drew his sword, and swung violently. "You're a moron, Prime," Megatron snarked. "You had a sneak attack for less than a moment, and you may have gotten your TROOPS inside easily."

"We also got a much-needed distraction," Optimus began, swinging as he clashed his blade violently into Galvatron's armor. "Or are you _missing _something, Galvatron?" He questioned rather cooly.

Galvatron's optics widened as he stared around, noting that even in the chaos a team was missing. The Dinobots, the ones with the flyer, the biggest of the Autobots themselves. The ones with the _ancient _nearly unreadable energy signatures. "Get the slag off of that building!" Galvatron shouted over the comm link. "Move the trump card now! Use him as a fragging shield if you have to!"

Hearing the order, Hound double timed his charge through the battlezone. Avoiding NEST soldiers, who had now joined the fight as well, and tearing through several vehicons. _We're coming baby boy. _Hound thought as his processor went to Mark. _Just hang in there._

And with the Battle of Dallas being waged around him, his processor could think of nothing else.

...

A/N: And so begins the long final battle in this story! :D Hope you enjoyed the start, I tried to make it as epic as I could. :D


	56. The Battle of Dallas: Part 2

KATNIP: Thanks! Glad you're still enjoying. :D

DISCLAIMER: Transformers and all related characters belong to their respective owners. Mark Savoy and Alexis Tanner belong to me of course. And a new addition here: Mira Savage belongs to Mrs. Andromeda Prime, who I thank for allowing me to borrow! :D Go check out her awesome story "The Uprising of Extinction" if you get a chance, it's awesome! :D

...

**CHAPTER 56  
The Battle of Dallas: Part 2 **

Mark was on his feet when the chaos started, his head shooting up as it happened. He quickly felt Coulton grab his arm, and drag him back. He felt the cold metal of the gun he'd dropped pushed to his temple as the pretender stared around. "You heard Lord Galvatron," Cyclonus hissed as he looked at him. "Give the boy back to me, I can get him out of here faster."

Coulton stared at Mark, and then began to drag him forward. The boy's eyes frantically searched the sky for Strafe, for rescue. But so far, he saw nothing, and that terrified him more than anything. He watched as he was dragged towards Cyclonus, preparing for this all to begin again. But a terrifyingly familiar roar cut them all off. "What on Cybertron IS THAT?" Cyclonus's optics stared up in horror.

Coulton's eyes shot back towards the back of the building just in time to dodge the incoming blaze of fire, dragging Mark back with him. Mark's eyes looked up as he saw Grimlock, his fangs bared, snarling at Coulton. "GRIMLOCK!" Mark screamed. "You came for me, you guys really came for me."

"Let him Mark go!" Grimlock snarled as Coulton yet again placed the gun against the temple of Mark's head. "Me Grimlock kill you!"

"You can't do anything without taking him with me," Coulton stated, cocking the pistol. "If you leave peacefully, we promise to keep him alive," As Mark tried to jab at him, Coulton smacked him against with his gun. "Stop squirming you little fragging-!"

Before Coulton could say anything more he was backhanded as Strafe at last landed. Coulton slid violently across the rooftop, Mark falling from his grip in the process. The Dinobot quickly scooped Mark into his hand, holding him close to his chest as he began to hover in the air. "You Coulton, saying?" Grimlock asked, smoke coming from his nose now. "You Strafe, get him Mark to Autobots!"

Cyclonus turned to strike at Strafe, but was immediately hit by a line of flame. He shrieked slightly, backing up towards Coulton as Strafe began to fly away. "You idiot! Don't let him make off with the boy!" He shouted as Mark looked at him smugly and waved. "Frag it all! If Lord Galvatron knows we lost him!" He felt himself picked up by the singed Decepticon with a huff. "What are you doing!?"

"Retreating! Unless you want to lose the human _and_ be barbecued!"

Grimlock let out a roar of primal fury as Cyclonus leapt off of the building, flying quickly. A thick line of fire following him with every step, and a _very _angry Grimlock chasing after them. Meanwhile Mark groaned, relief in his eyes as Strafe landed on the ground, lowering him just as a familiar figure approached. "Dad!" Mark shouted, tears streaming down his face.

"Mark!"

As Hound transformed, he scooped Mark up into the biggest hug he could give. For a moment, the old war mech felt his body quiver as he took in the fact that Mark was there, he was safe, they _had him. _"It's alright son," Hound whispered as Mark let all of his stress out in tears. "I gotcha now, yer safe and sound. And they're _never _touching you again," He stared up at Strafe. "Thank you, I owe you."

And for the first time, Mark was surprised to hear a Dinobot other than Grimlock speak. "It me Strafe's pleasure," Strafe saluted slightly, looking at Mark. "Him Mark, kind to us Dinobots. Him Mark, OK in me Strafe's book."

Hound held him there for what felt like an eternity, relief showing through the bond. But after several moments, the commando set his foster son onto the ground, rubbing the tip of his nose. "Primus, did Coulton and Galvatron do this to you?" He asked, noting the bruises and cuts that by now lined his body, to which Mark nodded. "I'll fragging kill them, give me the chance and I swear I will."

Mark turned his head as two cars joined them quickly, a Ferari, and a Corvette. As the door to said Ferari opened, he let out a sigh of relief, seeing that Alexis had exited him before Mirage and Sideswipe both transformed. "MARK!" She shouted as they ran, meeting half way as Mark took her into his arms. "I'm so glad you're okay, even if you look like hell."

"I'm fine," Mark muttered. "What are you doing here?"

"They needed a distraction, so Mirage and I did a little handiwork," Mark grinned a little as she motioned to the gun over his shoulder. "Oh, and I kinda came here to kick some butt. Y'know, a little of that too." She stated bluntly.

Hound shook his head, and pointe to Sideswipe. "Not happening, you two are leaving with Sideswipe, immediately," Mark turned to Hound, opening his mouth to argue. "Don't look at me like that, Markus Franklin Savoy. You've been hurt enough, and I'll be slagged if they come after you again," Mark clenched his teeth slightly.

"I'm not missing out on the action!" Sideswipe stated. "I'm with the kids, we're in the throng of it. If we flee we're sitting ducks-."

"They're kids!" Hound shouted. "I barely got Mark back, and I already lost a son to this war. I don't... I don't need to lose another," He looked at Mark with optics full of fear.

Mark saw the look of despair and frowned quietly. He knew how Hound felt, he knew that the mech was scared. But he also knew he wouldn't be in the throng of this if he wasn't meant to do SOMETHING. "Dad," Mark began, stepping forward, and resting his hand on his leg. "I know, I know... But I've got to fight, I don't have a choice. I mean look around us, is there any way out that won't mean we have to?" Hound was silent. "I promise, I'll stay safe."

Hound was silent, but he knew that Mark was right. For the moment, they were all soldiers, and that included Mark. But at least now he was there, he could protect him, keep him safe. Because Primus knew that he'd die for him any day of the week. "Alright," Hound finally relented. "You two can fight, but you stick b hind me! You hear me!?" He looked at Mark with a firm look in his eyes. "You stick to me and Sideswipe, and if you even think about running off-."

"Alright," Mark nodded. "I get it."

As they began to move out, Hound stopped Mark from following. He looked at him with optics filled with love, and then spoke. "No matter what happens out there. I love you, son," Mark smiled a bit. "I am so honored to be your father," He told him. "Remember that."

"We're gonna get out of this alive, dad," Mark told him calmly. "But I love you too," He added. "And I don't think you're anywhere as honored as I am to be your son." He paused a moment. "Thanks for coming to get me."

"Always, Mark," Hound told him. "Always."

And with that, father and son rushed to catch up with their friends, with Mark picking up a fallen pretenders weapon along the way. He tensed slightly, rushing up to Alexis, and taking her hand. Inside, he could only hope against all hope that what he told Hound would end up being true.

...

Lennox groaned as a blast landed just near him, covering his eyes from the ash and soot with his arm. This whole battle had already gone to hell, long before it started. While some of the NEST troops had managed to help some civilians to safety, the air still smelled of death, and blood. "Colonel," Lennox looked up as one of their best and brightest soldiers, Mira Savage made her way over to his cover behind a car quickly. "The other Autobots just got word that Mark Savoy has been secured, the Decepticons lost their leverage."

Lennox sighed in quiet relief, at least they now had taken away what the Decepticons had over the Autobots. And for that matter, at least the boy they had all come to enjoy the presence of was now safe for the moment. "Make sure that no one gets too cocky about this," Lennox replied. "We may have gotten Mark back, but now Galvatron's going to be even more pissed off."

Mira nodded her head cautiously, peering over the car. Three "vehicons", as the Autobots called them, were hunting their group, or so she guessed. Most of them ignored the downed bodies of their comrades. "Think we should open fire on them?" Mira questioned. "We've already lost a good chunk of the forces that were in our group. But I still think we can take them."

"We don't have a choice if we're going to merge back in with group B," Lennox shook his head. "On the count of three," Lennox turned to the rest of their group, about ten others behind a downturned bus, and held up three fingers. "One," He breathed. "Two," One finger down, the footsteps were coming closer. "Three!" This time, he shouted.

As the soldiers ran from cover, they fired off a volley of shots, managing to take down one of the vehicons. The others spun around, firing off a volley of shots as Lennox turned around, and fired at one of them repeatedly. "Lennox!" Mira shouted, looking over at him. "Come on, we have to move!" She insisted, shaking her head. "Epps's group will be here any minute!"

Lennox turned, and began to rush forward, looking over his shoulder. The rubble around Dallas made it hard to navigate, but after going through this three times, Lennox felt like a pro. He kept his hand on Mira's back, pushing her forward, and firing over his shoulder again. Mira, however, managed to spin around as well, firing off several more shots, one of which seemingly pierced the spark of the right vehicon. "Nice shot!" Lennox muttered, sliding out of the way of yet another shot.

"Lucky shot," Mira muttered. "Oh no," She added.

As Lennox turned his head, he noticed the line of vehicons that were now headed their way from the opposite side. He gritted his teeth, this was definitely not what he wanted to see. It was almost as though for each drone they took down, fifty more took their place. "Prime!" Lennox grabbed the attention of Optimus, who turned briefly from exchanging blows from Galvatron nearby. "There's too many of them! We might have to fall back if Epps doesn't-."

The sound of a missile grabbed Lennox's attention his eyes shooting up as three whizzed through the sky. Most of them crashed into the center vehicon, but the other two blasted apart the chest of several adjacent ones as a wave of jets flew through the sky. "Somebody looking for me?" Lennox turned his head as Epps, and more of the NEST forces made their way down the street. "Sorry we're late to the party. I was calling in a favor from a few buddies of mine."

"You have buddies willing to fly into this?" Mira asked in surprise.

"No one wants another Chicago," Epps shook his head, and looked around at their forces. "This is all we got now?" Lennox nodded his head. "Aw, man. I don't like these odds so much anymore," He grumbled under his breath.

"Too late to turn back now," Lennox shook his head. "Go down fighting, or not at all."

Lennox loaded up his gun once again, looking at Epps with a fist held out. The man didn't even hesitate to fist bump him as all three rushed to join the remainder of the NEST Forces. Lennox didn't like the odds either, even with more NEST forces on there way (they had figured slowly moving them into the city would be easier than all at once), they would only number somewhere around six hundred, against however many the Decepticons had. And at this point, they'd already lost somewhere around ninety fellow soldiers had already gone down.

He wouldn't give up though, he refused to give up. As he thought back to Sarah and Annabelle, and the unborn child that Sarah had revealed to be on the way only a month prior. He'd make his way back to them, just like he had all three of the other times, that he silently swore to himself. And so, he picked up his pace, charging into what may very well be the final fight of his life. But it didn't matter to him, like it had never mattered before, these Decepticons would not have his planet, or his home.

Meanwhile, Optimus's attention returned to Galvatron. The mech was more powerful, and more agile than Optimus remembered. And combined with his anger from the news he'd received from Coulton and Cyclonus, it was a dangerous combination. "Why go through so much trouble, Optimus? For such a measly little insect?" Optimus dodged again, and swung his blade down. "He was even the son of a common enemy!"

"Because, Galvatron, he is a friend, a _loved one_," Optimus told him calmly. "This is a concept, I have come to understand that you will never grasp. But I implore for you to heed my words." He watched as Galvatron's left arm slowly transformed into a sword now, deflecting his strike. "I will never betray the people of this planet, nor truly abandon them. Not Mark, not the humans of this city, nor anyone else."

"And here I thought last time you'd finally tired of them," Galvatron sneered. "Pity, I suppose this means you _will _have to die with him."

As the Decepticon warlord swung his blade inches from his face, Optimus ducked. With a sharp kick to the mech's ankle, he grunted and slammed forward into the Decepticon's chest. "The only one who will fall upon this day," Optimus began stabbing Galvatron in the right side of his chest. "Is you!"

Growling in pain, Galvatron snarled. "We shall see, Prime."

And so, as the blade was removed from him, Galvatron struck hard. Neither would break from their resolve, nor would they stop until this ended. One way or the other, they were determined to end this here and now.


	57. The Battle of Dallas: Part 3

A/N: The release of Age of Extinction totally pumped my muse back up for this fic so woo! New chapter time!

...

**CHAPTER 57  
The Battle of Dallas: Part 3 **

Smoke filled his vision as Mark did everything he could to run for his life. Alexis kept close to him as he kept his hands firmly on his gun, aiming around. Sideswipe and Mirage flanked either side of him, and to his surprise, Mirage seemed to keep his optic on Alexis. Had she and the Ferari bot actually hit it off during whatever they were doing. "Kind of a rush, isn't it?" Sideswipe asked his partner from beside him. "All the firing from all sides, the smoke, the action."

"I was thinking it was kind of terrifying," Mark breathed out. "Dad!" Hound turned his head from his perch alongside one of the buildings. "How many of them are out there?"

Hound shook his head, turning around, and groaning. His optics lowered to Mark with a look of fear, and, from the looks of it, uncertainty. "They're coming by the slag-load," He shouted, looking at the others. "Sideswipe, Mirage, lead the kids to higher ground. If they're going to join the fight, I don't want them in the throng of this," He added very firmly.

Mark took steps forward, throwing his hands up. "No way, dad! We're in this together, remember?" Hound frowned at that, growling a little. "Don't give me that look, dad. I'm going in there with you if you like it or not," He then looked at Sideswipe and Mirage. "You guys can take Lexi to higher ground if it comes to that, but I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm obligated as your guardian to follow you," Sideswipe shrugged. "Even if you're going to get yourself and others killed."

Mark turned, ready to argue, but had no time. The sound of engines roaring above got his attention, though he quickly realized it was not a jet on their side. It was Cyclonus, and in his cockpit, Coulton, both looking very angry as Grimlock appeared to be distracted some distance off. "Dad, look out!" Mark shouted, the mech turned just in time to see several blasts, which hit him. "Stupid piece of slag! Eat this!" He shouted.

The shot that he fired from his gun hit Cyclonus in both wings. But, to his disappointment, it didn't do nearly as much damage as he hoped. Mark cursed under his breath, backing up, and turning towards Alexis. But she had already begun to rush forward, getting on one knee, pointing the gun towards the sky, and firing upon Cyclonus as well. "Mirage!" Alexis shouted. "I'm going to try and help fight off the others coming at Hound's left, can you cover me!?" She shouted.

Mirage grimaced a bit, seemingly unamused at the fact she was now throwing him orders. "Primus almighty girl, we team up for one mission and suddenly she thinks we're partners," Mirage grumbled, starting toward her. "But slag it all if I'm not getting a little fighting in myself."

Mark's head shot up, watching as the cockpit opened. His eyes widened at the sight of Coulton, leaping out and landing some feet away. Cyclonus came next, transforming, and landing himself. Hound looked between Sideswipe and Mark, as the latter turned his head towards Sideswipe. "Help dad take that creep Cyclonus out," Mark told him firmly. "Coulton's mine."

"This isn't gonna work that way kid," Sideswipe shook his head. "You're not taking an armed Decepticon on, not on your own."

Mark shook his head, watching as Coulton approached with vigor. Before Hound could turn to fire however, Cyclonus had leapt forward, violently slamming him into a building. "Sorry Sides, I never was a good listener," Mark ran a hand through his hair. "You want to help me out? Cover fire, that's all I need." He began a long stride towards Coulton. "But I'm taking this son of a gun out myself."

And with that, he raised his gun up, and began a rapid fire at Coulton. The mech seemed surprised, side-stepping to avoid it, but ultimately taking two hits as he approached. Sideswipe began to fire as well, rolling quickly to catch up with them. But his chance at firing at him was ended when Mark lunged violently for Coulton only a couple of feet away from him. Coulton dodged, swinging a fist violently for the back of Mark's head. Mark groaned, but this time, didn't go down, rather kicked both feet out from under him.

As Sideswipe continued to roll, he groaned in pain, sparks flying. Turning his head, he quickly caught sight of Cyclonus, who was simultaneously holding Hound off, and firing at him. "HELP HIM!" Hound snapped, his optics turning to Sideswipe with a look of fear. "Sideswipe! I can hold him off, fraggit! Mark can't!" He shouted.

But Sideswipe knew it was a lie, and instead lunged forward and towards Cyclonus. Instead activating his holoform to aid Mark, who was surprised when it appeared behind Coulton, swinging his fist violently for the back of the mech's head. "Two against one?" Coulton snarled, turning towards Sideswipe. "I thought Autobots were supposed to fight fair."

"You mess with my little bro? You're taking the "bull by the horns"," Sideswipe spat as Coulton rose from his place on top of Mark. "Come on fragger, I've been waiting for this since the first time I saw that ugly mug of yours!"

Mark rose from behind Coulton and slammed the butt of the gun into his back. The man howled, turning between the two of them, he slowly transformed into his true Decepticon form. "Very well, child, you want to play?" Coulton sneered. "Then let's play." He brought out a blade from his arm, surprising Mark, who gawked. "Shall we begin?"

As he swung, Mark deflected the blade with his gun, preparing for the fight. This was one fight he was determined to win, to make him wish he had never taken on that form to begin with. "Sure Coulton," Mark snapped. "I'm more than happy to kick your aft. Then you can go to the pit and tell that Unicron guy how you got yours handed to you by a youngling!"

Coulton was stunned by the hard smack to the side of his head with Mark's gun. The mech turned, bringing out another blade as he parried a blow from Sideswipe's blade, a grin on his features. He always had enjoyed a challenge, and now he figured that Mark would have an audience for his oncoming death. Yet as their battle continued there, Hound was barely fairing any better. To say that Cyclonus was more than a little angry with him over what happened before may have been the understatement of the century.

With each blow he swung, Hound barely dodged, firing off multiple rounds at him with great precision. The blades he swung barely managed to miss him by a hairline, but still managed to miss none-the-less. "You didn't really think this fight was over, did you Hound?" Cyclonus parried a blow from Sideswipe over his shoulder. "Not even your pet dinosaur could keep me from seeing your death through."

"I'm not gonna be dying today, Cyclonus," Hound took the chance he had to swing a hard punch at his spark chamber. "Not when I have so much to live for!"

Sideswipe groaned, trying his best to keep up with his holoform and robot forms. It was difficult, and he quickly found, impossible to do so. He screeched as he was knocked to the ground, hard, and his holoform no longer able to keep up, fizzled out. Mark's eyes widened, and he turned his head towards Sideswipe. "SIDES!"

"I'd be more worried about myself if I were you," Coulton snarled, grabbing him from behind, and throwing him back to the ground, and knocking the gun from his hand. "Come on, boy. You're the one with all the bravery and macho attitude. Let's see you face me for real!" He added with a hiss, as Mark watched his mouth begin to transform, turning into a disturbing, grinding weapon itself. "You wanna be the next Witwicky boy? You want to be the hero?" He added with a chilling screech. "Prove yourself worthy!"

Mark rolled over onto his side before the blade Coulton swung could come near him. "MARK!" Hound shouted, fear in his optics. "Mark, just run! GET OUT OF HERE!" The boy stared over, seeing quite clearly that his father, and guardian were being bested. "I believe in ye, kid. But you can't take the blows we can! We'll be okay!"

"Should have listened to daddy," Coulton sneered.

Mark groaned quietly, his eyes darting behind him as he looked for an area in which to run. After a moment, his eyes hit something, and widened. An unused grenade, probably dropped by passing NEST troops, lay in the middle of the street. Mark looked up at the open, and twisting mouth of Coulton, and the dagger-like teeth that looked ready to chomp at him as he crawled back. "You know Coulton, I'm tired of putting up with you," Mark shook his head. "If you're gonna kill me," He began to crawl back violently, reaching for the grenade. "Then do it you freak of nature!"

"With PLEASURE."

Mark's hand hit the grenade, and he violently pulled the clip, knowing he'd only have one chance to do this. As Coulton lunged for him with his blade, Mark shoved the live grenade into Coulton's exposed, and open mouth. Coulton's optics widened all too late in a sense of recognition. Taking this as his cue, Mark gripped the arm with one of the blades, and knocked the blade out. "You brat! What was that!" Coulton asked, his voice filled with fear. "What did you put into me?"

Mark grabbed the blade, and plunged it right into the terrified Decepticon's spark chamber. The mech's optics widened, and he grasped for any semblance of life he had left. "I'll give you a hint," Mark grinned. "_Boom_."

Coulton had no time to react as, as if on cue, his body exploded forward in chunks of metal and energon. Mark backed up violently, feeling as some energon did still manage to burn through his skin. The action, however, quickly grabbed the attention of Cyclonus. "Coulton!?" His optics narrowed at the sight of his offlined partner, flaring with anger. "You little pit-spawned disgrace for an "Autobot"!"

Cyclonus knocked Hound back violently, and quickly began the approach towards Mark. Hound quickly removed a gun, and aimed it for Cyclonus's head, a smirk on his face. "Good distraction kid," Hound grinned.

Cyclonus was shocked as half of his head blew apart, leaving him shrieking in pain. Hound next lunged forward, grabbing Cylconus, and violently slamming him onto his knee. Mark cringed, and looked away at the sound of the Decepticon's metal spine breaking, and then, with great forced, the Decepticon himself being ripped in half. "Holy frag," Hound turned his head towards Sideswipe, who pulled himself out of his stupor. "Why did the two of you even need me again?"

"Back-up," Hound replied, dropping the sides of Cyclonus to the ground. "We can't stand around like this though. More will be coming, especially if they found us so easily," He added rather frustrated. "Let's go get Alexis and Mirage and push forward. We have to regroup with Optimus and the others."

Mark nodded his head, grabbing the gun he had dropped. He took one last look back down at what remained of Coulton, a slight discomfort filling him at the sight. He had made his first kill, on a mech that had terrorized him, none-the-less. And yet, the first kill was always the hardest, they said. And he was feeling that as it all weighed heavily on him there and then. "Hey," Hound looked at Mark. "Ye did good kid, not sure I like you disobeyed my orders but... You made a 'Bot slaggin' proud the way you fought."

Mark breathed slowly, and pulled himself to his feet to the best of his ability. "Thanks dad," Mark tried to smirk. "I take after my old mech,"

Hound smirked back at him, but knew they'd have time for this later. Especially with the kill most likely weighing very heavy on his mind. For the moment, at least, he would continue on. "C'mon then," He nodded. "Let's get a move on. Are you okay enough to walk?"

Mark nodded, knowing that his body hurt like hell, and he was bruised nearly everywhere. But he would not stop going, or fighting, even with that, and the tinge of guilt he felt. He would stand, and he would continue to fight. Because as of that moment, official or not, he _was _the Autobot he knew he had been deep down.

...

A/N: And at last, Coulton is dead! I hope his death satisfied everyone who wanted to see him go. I tried to make it as epic as possible. :D And don't worry Sideswipe fans, being he's my favorite, he will be getting more action coming up!


End file.
